Courageous Captain !
The Indian top order had collapsed like a pack of cards in the thin air and India was struggling at 32/4 in the 11th over. Everyone watching ‘live’ cricket started losing their hope of a win.
At this juncture a young, dynamic Uday Saharan, the captain of the Under 19 Indian Cricket team was at the crease. He was joined by the aggressive Sachin Dhas, who wasted no time to showcase his hitting power.
While Saharan looked calm and composed, Dhas made the most of available opportunities. Both the batsmen displayed extreme caution and knit a match-winning partnership. Their partnership of 171 runs was highest for the 5th wicket in the entire tournament.
While Dash perished for a well made 96 (missing his century by a whisker), the captain was run out in the last over of the match at 76 runs but both of them ensured that they had provided enough cushion to the team to continue their winning streak.
The enthusiasm, the exuberance and the excitement could be experienced in the picture after the winning hit.
In India, where cricket is a religion, this breed of fearless young cricketers have ensured to make their impact on the minds of the selectors. This has further ensured that they are presenting a strong case for selection at the doors of the Indian Cricket Team.
Only time will tell what will happen but the Rohits and Virats can retire safely handing over the baton of the cricket team to this deserving lot of young players.
Best wishes to the young boys for roaring loud in the finals and bring the coveted Under 19 Cup to India!!!
The learnings of this wonderful episode to the youngsters are :-
1) Self belief is a miracle power pill. This comes after years of consistent practice.
2) The more you bleed during practice, the less you cry in a war. The number of hours spent on the ground makes impossible things possible.
3) Maturity is not doing uncommon things, it’s doing the most mundane job differently.
4) A good partnership sets or changes the tone of the match. Earlier, the South African bowlers partnership were going great guns, then Indian batsmen had a great partnership.
5) If one batsman is attacking, the second batsman must play defensive and rotate the strike to make the team win.
6) No cricket match is over till the last ball is bowled. Hope backed by hard work is a perfect recipe for success.