Skipper Chand rises to the occasion to crack a magnificent ton as India down Australia to win the U-19 World Cup.
If anybody had any concerns left about what would happen to Indian cricket after the retirement of the likes of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, they should have totally evaporated by now. If India’s dominance over New Zealand in Hyderabad wasn’t convincing enough, our U-19 team winning the World Cup settles the issue.
It’s not just the triumph but the manner of it that is so impressive. We did it in Australia where the conditions hugely favoured the home team that played against us in the finals. This makes it an even bigger win than the one in 2008 when the U-19 team led by Virat Kohli brought home the World Cup from Malaysia, where the pitches were slow and low.
In this Sunday’s final, India chased down the Aussie target under pressure on a seam-friendly pitch which had both bounce and movement. The target of 226 seems modest by sub-continental standards but it was in fact the highest successful run chase on this ground.
Unmukt Chand played a captain’s knock to come in as an opener and take his team home with an unbeaten century after they had faltered to 97 for four. It’s obvious this guy needs to be fast-tracked into the big league. He not only had the technique and temperament to bat under pressure, but the big shots too, with six sixes in his innings, three of them coming when India had fallen behind the required rate.
If Unmukt is the answer to our perennial quest for a reliable opener, Sandeep Sharma set the game up initially with an opening spell of right-arm seam bowling that reduced the Aussies to 38 for four before their captain William Bosisto led a recovery with an unbeaten 87.
India’s spin bowling tradition is also alive and well apparently, contrary to pessimistic reports. Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh has been talked up as the next Bishan Singh Bedi, and deservedly so because he bowls slow through the air, has a lovely loop and an arm ball to boot. He didn’t get a wicket in the final but that’s only because the Aussies had decided to play him out safely.
As if that is not enough, we also have off-spinner Baba Aparajith from Tamil Nadu, who is not afraid to flight the ball like Erapalli Prasanna. Captain Chand brought him into the attack early to take care of left-hander KR Patterson, and he obliged with a wicket in his very first over. Unlike Prasanna, however, he is a good bat too.
In fact, it was Baba who came in to bat after the loss of an early wicket and counter-attacked with some classic cover drives before he fell to a great catch when he did not keep one drive down low enough.
Opening batsman. Tick. Opening bowler. Tick. Spinners. Tick. All-rounder? Baba.
That leaves a wicketkeeper batsman, and Smit Patel shows enough promise in that department. He missed one difficult catch but was otherwise feisty and confident behind the wickets. More importantly, he shared an unbeaten century partnership with his captain to see India through.
And finally, the way Unmukt Chand handled the bowlers and field placements, and guided his batting partners, suggests that we have an India captain in the making too. Let’s see how many of these youngsters fulfill their great potential, but clearly there’s an interest and flair for cricket in India which will keep us glued to the game in the years ahead.
Scorecard
Australia Under-19s
C Bancroft lbw b Sharma 2, J Peirson b Sharma 0, M Buchanan c Patel b Ravikant Singh 12, K Patterson b Aparajith 16, W Bosisto not out 87, T Head run out 37, A Turner c Chand b Sharma 43, A Gregory c Nath b Sharma 4, J Paris run out 0, GS Sandhu not out 10
Extras: (B1, LB5, W6, NB2) 14
Total: (8 wickets; 50 overs) 225
FoW 1-2, 2-8, 3-38, 4-38, 5-103, 6-196, 7-204, 8-206
Bowling: Sandeep Sharma 10-2-54-4 (1W), K Passi 9-0-44-0 (3W), Ravikant Singh 9-0-41-1 (2NB, 1W), B Aparajith 10-0-31-1, Harmeet Singh 10-1-36-0 (1W), U Chand 2-0-13-0
India Under-19s
P Chopra c Peirson b Steketee 0, U Chand not out 111, B Aparajith c Turner b Sandhu 33, H Vihari c & b Turner 4, V Zol c Peirson b Paris 1, S Patel not out 62
Extras: (LB5, W11) 16
Total: (4 wickets; 47.4 overs) 227
FoW: 1-2, 2-75, 3-82, 4-97;
Bowling: J Paris 10-2-33-1 (3W), M Steketee 9-1-47-1 (5W), GS Sandhu 10-0-43-1 (2W), A Turner 8.4-1-42-1 (1W), A Gregory 6-0-40-0, T Head 4-0-17-0
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