Indian colts romp over Australia with Yash Dhull leading from the front

In probably one of the proudest moments for eleven aspiring colts, India U19 romped over a formidable Australia in the semi-final to fix a date with England in the grand finale of the biennial extravaganza.

A display that will stay etched in the memories of the world for various reasons, bore witness to some magnanimous slices of fortunes gracing the Indian lads, a classic display of a few exotic strokes that would rekindle the initial days of Sachin, Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and some electrifying fielding that left Australia writhing in agony.

Winning the toss, Yash Dhull opted to bat and the Indian openers couldn’t really justify his decision as the in-form Angkrish Raghuvanshi was undone by an absolute pearler from Salzmann. A delivery that pitched in the line of the middle-stump drifted by an inch to leave the Indian opener startled and clipped the top of the off-stump in its flight path.

Harnoor Singh seemed pretty decent until then where he carved a couple of fine-looking strokes, featuring an ecstatic cover-drive and Gilly-esque flick down the leg-side, making perfect use of his wrists. However, a short ball from Nisbet left him undone as he was too slow to react while the resultant flyer was comfortably grabbed by Snell.

As India teetered along the fringes of survival against a fiery Australian bowling lineup, the captain and the vice-captain stepped up to stabilize the rocked ship and steered it out of the immediate doldrums with some stellar strokes that would prod the franchises to probably think of a budget to land these two young phenomena.

A couple of strikes that deserved special mentions from the duo include the likes of a picture-perfect cover drive from Shaik Rasheed while Yash Dhull powered a mighty fine maximum from chest height that would need some herculean power, given the awkward position of the cherry.

The duo stitched together a stand of 204 runs with Dhull pumping his fist in the air in an exultant celebration that would rekindle the Indian fans a memory of Virat Kohli’s gravity-defying fist pump in Australia after completing a remarkable century.

He pressed feet on the gas after reaching the magical figures as he started peppering the Australian bowlers beyond the ropes. Sadly, for him, he had to depart after an unfortunate dismissal that caught him out of the crease while a straight drive from Rasheed dislodged the stumps in its path that saw James Nisbet getting his fingertips to it.

In a matter of just two balls, India’s imperious adventure till then suddenly stepped on a precarious swamp with two set batsmen departing in a span of two balls. The next man to depart was Rasheed, whose slash at the off-stump was grabbed by Sinfield, even though the decision seemed clouded by controversy.

Thanks to India’s depth in the batting lineup, it allowed them to swing their willows around in the final overs where the Australian bowlers found themselves at the receiving end of some mindless carnage. The final over by Tom Whitney went for 27 runs as Nishant Sindhu and Dinesh Bana made merry to propel India to a staggering 290.

Australia’s chase stuttered in the very second over that saw Ravi Kumar claiming the in-form scalp of Teague Wyllie with an absolute jaffa. It was a menacing mix of swing and pace that left Tyllie beaten completely. Corey Miller was the next to depart after a painstaking partnership that saw Australia threatening to take the game away.

It was India’s part-time spinner, Angkrish Raghuvanshi who put a spanner in Australia’s runaway plans. He left Miller stranded as a quick delivery flicked his pads after angling away from the batter, that would have grazed the side of the leg-stump.

India’s spinning talisman, Vicky Ostwal struck gold when his skitter was lofted into the air by a set Kellaway and Sindhu made no mistake to remove the big man. Kellaway’s scalp opened up the doors for an avalanche in the Australian middle-order that devolved out their initial dominion into a middling enterprise of survival.

Chennai-born Nivethan Radhakrishnan was left stunned at the sheer magic weaved by a screamer from Nishant Sindhu. The ball pitched way outside the off-stump but it angled in sharply to clip the timbre, heralding the arrival of a promising posterity in the ranks of Indian cricket.

Despite a desperate attempt to save themselves from the blushes of humiliation, it never really seemed as if Australia could have managed something significant. Lachlan Shaw put in a fighting effort with a sedulous half-century while there were late bursts of brilliance from Jack Sinfield and Tom Whitney. To cap off India’s brilliance in the field, Australia’s resistance was finally snuffed out with an electrifying direct hit from India’s expressman, Rajvardhan Hangargekar.

India will be playing England in the grand finale of this biennial extravaganza for a record fifth crown which is slated to happen on Saturday.