Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan took a cheeky jibe at his former teammate and 2004 U19 World Cup captain Ambati Rayadu. Dhawan was doing his Hindi commentary job during the Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2025 match. The former cricketer playfully blamed Rayadu for a semifinal loss against archrival Pakistan when both nations had a face-off in the ICC U19 World Cup 2004. 

During the 2004 World Cup, Ambati Rayudu was the skipper of team India and considered the next big talent of the Indian cricket circuit. India performed well in the group stage and qualified for the semifinal, which was against Pakistan. 

But, in an unfortunate turnaround for team India, Ambati got himself banned in the semifinal, which heavily affected the team's performance. He was found guilty by two umpires of a slow over rate in India's last group stage match against Sri Lanka.

Read More: IPL 2025: LSG vs DC Match 40 - Ekana Cricket stadium stats and preview

Pakistan was struggling with the bat at the initial stage of the second innings, but somehow they managed to bounce back and defeat India to confirm the ticket to the final. Pakistan won the final match against the West Indies and won the U19 World Cup trophy. 

According to Dhawan, Rayadu's absence cost them heavily against Pakistan. 

Watch the hilarious moment here: 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by virat kohli (@virat.kohli20018)

"Ambati Rayudu ka bahut bada naam tha U19 mai. Humare captain the U19 World Cup mei aur waha pe bhi ban hogaye the, humara semi-final mar gaya (Ambati Rayudu was a big name in U19 cricket. He was our captain in the U19 World Cup, and he got banned there also ahead of the semi-final, and we lost," said Shikhar Dhawan during his IPL 2025 commentary work. 

In place of regular skipper Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik was assigned to lead the team in the semifinal. Batting first, team India scored 168 runs; Robin Uthappa was the top scorer with 33. 

A partnership in the second innings proved decisive

Pakistan in the second innings had a tough time at the beginning, losing wickets at regular intervals, which resulted in 5 for 83. From here, the neighboring country team turned the table with the help of Tariq Mahmood (45 not out) and Fawad Alam (43 not out). Together, the duo stitched a match-winning 88-run partnership.