On Wednesday, Indian colts created history by chasing down a challenging 311-run target against Afghanistan with ease in just 41.1 overs to confirm their spot in the final of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup against England.
Hyderabad’s Aaron George led the way with a brilliant century which made a mockery of the huge task. The way, Aaron handled the situation and shepherded the chase was commendable.
Aditya Tare heaped praise on Aaron George. “There was a sense of simplicity about Aaron George’s innings. To be playing under the shadow of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and captain Ayush Mhatre, it was incredible the way he played with such calmness.
“Some of the shots he played were outstanding. The way he punched the ball through the covers, through mid-wicket, those straight lofted sixes he hit, and the on-drive. The way he batted with so much composure speaks volumes about his mental ability as well, that he is ready for the next level. A few players will go on to play for India, and there is certainly a case for Aaron George, especially with this century coming in the semifinal. The quality of the strokes he played really stands out for me,” said Tare on JioHotstar’s Dil Se India programme.
Former India player Reetinder Singh Sodhi said England should be wary of this batting line-up and that India have a real chance of winning the World Cup again. “It seemed like India came prepared mentally to finish it off quickly. It was a massive win. It’s a thumping win, there’s no doubt about it, especially given the pressure of a semifinal. But the way Vaibhav Suryavanshi played, and the way Aaron George played, showed that this Indian batting line-up has a lot of firepower. Getting them out won’t be easy. They would have made even England sweat after such a performance. Because when you chase down a big score in such a manner, you instil fear in other teams’ minds. England would be thinking, ‘How do we get this line-up out?’ You have Vaibhav Suryavanshi in cracking form, Aaron scoring runs in the semifinal, captain Ayush Mhatre coming back into form, and then there is Vedant, who didn’t have much to do in this game. Vihaan is in good form, and Kanishk has done well too. I think India have a real chance of winning this World Cup.”
On Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s carnage at the top, Sodhi said: “He is fabulous. This is a different level of batting. This was a knock played under huge pressure. A target of 311 could have been difficult. Vaibhav Suryavanshi was the key to this run chase. If he plays well, then we’ll win the game, and that’s exactly what happened. He hits even the good balls for sixes. The bowler would be thinking, where does he bowl to him? When the ball leaves your hand, you think it has come out nicely, pitched in the right spot, swung, but when it hits the bat, it goes straight into the stands. This is what Suryavanshi does, and it will be impossible to stop him in his current form.”
But the player also had a word of caution for Suryavanshi. “However, I would urge him to remember it’s a 50-over contest and to take one or two extra balls. He could have scored 150–175 on this pitch the way he was going. But he will learn that. He is slowly becoming a junior Abhishek Sharma, but he is still very young. If he keeps improving, he will go miles and miles ahead,” Sodhi said.
Former India Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand said India have the chance of potentially winning their sixth title. “India have a 100 per cent chance of winning, the way they are playing. I think this is a very good team. More than anything else, I think this is a very complete team. The way they have played throughout the tournament, they deserve to win. In my time, we might not have been the best team, but we still won. Under the able leadership of Ayush, and with contributions from everyone else, I can’t single out one or two players because everyone has been important and played their part in this campaign up to the semi-finals. I am sure this final is going to be very interesting,” Chand said.
