Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre may be the poster boys of this India U19 team leading up to the World Cup next month, but there are other exciting talents waiting to write their own story at the tournament. Against Pakistan in the Asia Cup group fixture on Sunday, despite the two boys playing only supporting role, Aaron George played showed why is amongst the promising prospect to watch out with the bat before pacer Deepesh Devendran sent another strong signal that he could soon be part of bigger plans with the senior side. The duo’s performance alongside Kanishk Chouhan’s all-round show proved to be the big difference as India posted an emphatic 90-run win.
At the tournament to be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia, India as has been the case in recent years, will start as firm favourites.
As has been the scene when senior teams of India and Pakistan meet, their captains Mhatre and Farhan Yousaf didn’t shake hands at the toss. Subsequently right through the contest, which was reduced to 49-overs a side because of the delayed start due to rain and wet outfield, there were tense moments with send-offs being a common feature across both innings.
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When India took the field in the afternoon with 241 to defend, the game was in the balance. The green top had life, but the conditions seemed far better to bat than it was in the morning where the short spell of rain had induced more juice on the surface, making it all spicy. Unlike Pakistan attack that wasted the conditions by not hitting the right lengths in the first powerplay, India wisely utilised the conditions. Kishan Singh and Henil Patel ensured Pakistan didn’t get a flying start, which would have made it challenging for the rest of the attack. Instead, their miserly spell meant that when Deepesh came on, he had the luxury of bowling with an attacking field.
Short and sour
The Chennai pacer, who made impressive returns during the U19 tour of Australia, broke Pakistan’s back in his first spell. With two kinds of bouncers up his sleeve, he used the short deliveries to good effect. First up, he removed Sameen Manhas, caught at fine-leg when he attempted a hook that he couldn’t keep down. Off his second over, Ali Hassan Baloch couldn’t help but nick one that was in the channel outside off-stump. Off his third over, after testing Ahmed Hussain with a couple of short deliveries, he bowled another well-directed bouncer that the left-hander fended awkwardly and edged to the wicketkeeper. Those three wickets came in a spell where Pakistan went 44 deliveries without a boundary. Pressure conspired against those wickets. Deepesh’s first spell read: 5-0-7-3.
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Those three wickets meant, Pakistan were made to play catch-up. Soon, off-spinner Kanish too struck off the first ball, getting opener Usman Khan edge to Mhate at slip. That brought Farhan and Huzaifa Ahsan to the middle. When the two were in the middle, hope flickered briefly for Pakistan as they steadied them from the slide with Huzaifa counter-attacking the spinners. Once Suryavanshi broke the stand, the rest folded without much resistance as Huzaifa fought a lone battle before they were bundled out for 150.
Stamping class
Earlier, it was an opportunity for Aaron to stamp his class. Unlike Suryavanshi and Mhatre – two batsmen with IPL exposure – he isn’t as flamboyant, but is blessed with a compact technique and has a stylish element that one associates with Hyderabadi batsmen. Like his predecessors from the city, he has strong wrists that allows him to casually lift the ball either side off the wicket. Coming in at No 3, his first two boundaries were off edges – inside edge followed by outside. It was the phase where Mhatre was in full control, playing bold cricket on a green top by taking on the opposition. But George took charge soon.
Although Ali Raza looked the most menacing pacer in Pakistan ranks, the left-arm seamer Mohammad Sayyam isn’t far behind. With a smooth, front-on action and ability to move the ball both ways, he could have caused substantial damage if he bowled full length. Instead, he dragged his length a bit back, and that was enough for George, who brought out crisp drives, including three on the air that sailed over mid-on and point fielders. Those three shots aside, he has a controlled pull and a delicious flick. Both strokes dominated his boundary percentage. Despite getting a strong start, between the 10 and 20th over India lost four wickets before George arrested the slide in the company of Abhigyan Kundu. India appeared to be setting up for a good finish, but the dismissal of both the batsmen in the same over left all the work to Kanishk. His run-a-ball 46 with the help of the lower order ferried India to 240.
Brief scores: India 240 in 46.1 overs (Aaron George 85, Kanish Chouhan 46, Ayush Mhatre 39; Abdul Subhan 3/42, Mohammad Sayyum 3/67) bt Pakistan 150 in 41.2 overs (Huzaifa Ahsan 70; Deepesh Devendran 3/17; Kanishk Chouhan 3/33) by 90 runs.