Eoin Morgan & Cheteshwar Pujara – Leading U19 run-scorers building legacies in different formats
The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup begins on 14 January in West Indies. Click here for details.
One is a Cricket World Cup-winning captain. The other has made a name in the Test arena, making 18 centuries at an average approaching 45.
Though for all of their differences, Eoin Morgan and Cheteshwar Pujara made their names in the same spot: the 2006 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka.
One day at Lord's with Eoin Morgan | CWC Rewind
Hear the stories from the dressing room and go into the mind of CWC19-winning captain Eoin Morgan as he relives the excitement from the World Cup final!
For Morgan, the story takes another turn when it's remembered that he featured for his native Ireland, making 338 runs at an average of 67.60, and a strike rate of 85. The next best for Ireland, Andrew Poynter, contributed with 148.
Morgan made 86 against Nepal, though it was his performance against New Zealand later in the tournament that put the left-hand dasher's name in the light.
Against an attack including Tim Southee and Hamish Bennett, Morgan made 124 from 126 balls, with 12 fours and three sixes.
While Ireland fell away to finish in the minor places, Pujara and India progressed to the final of the competition.
Pujara was a thorn in the side for most of India's opponents, not out three times and making scores of note in four of his team's six matches.
Pujara started the tournament in good touch, making 66 not out against Namibia and 47 not out against Scotland to begin the campaign.
Despite a blip against Sri Lanka, Pujara was a force in India's quarter-final victory over the West Indies, top-scoring with 97, before going one better in the semi-final, making an all-conquering 129 not out in demolition of England.
Pujara opens account with a cracking four | WTC21 Final | Ind v NZ
Eoin Morgan – An English switch culminating in 2019 Cricket World Cup victory
Making his ODI debut for his native Ireland just months after his U19 World Cup efforts, Morgan showed his credentials in the senior game, making a bittersweet 99 against Scotland. He went on to make a maiden ODI century in Irish colours in early 2007 against Canada, making their 2007 Cricket World Cup squad.
Holding a British passport through his mother, Morgan made the switch to England, permitted at the time given Ireland's then-Associate status.
Making his debut for England in 2009, Morgan took time to find his feet in the senior Full Member game, but soon moved into leadership roles through the early 2010s, leading the way in England's revolutionary white-ball play.
U19CWC: Then And Now Technique Comparisons
Boasting over 10000 runs in the international limited-overs formats, Morgan's international career will likely forever be headlined by his role in England's 2019 Cricket World Cup victory.
Making 371 runs at an average of 41 and a strike rate of 111, Morgan held his nerve as skipper, with his team holding on in the Super Over against New Zealand.
Cheteshwar Pujara – Trading the coloured kit for whites as India's immovable object
Playing just five limited-overs matches for his country, it's the long format where Pujara has shown his class.
Approaching 7000 Test runs, 18 centuries and 32 half-centuries, Pujara has enjoyed the peaks of the game, with a ranking as high as 2nd in the MRF Tyres ICC Test batting rankings. He was a key member as India reached the ICC World Test Championship Final 2021, where they went down to New Zealand in Southampton.
Pujara had an appetite for batting back in 2006, and it's a hunger that Pujara has not lost. Three double centuries and four more scores of over 150 emphasise his commitment to buckling down, making the No.3 spot his own.