U-19 World Cup: Uday Saharan leads from the front as India reach one step away from glory | Cricket News
Punjab’s Ranji Trophy skipper Mandeep Singh remembers a teenager who came along to challenge his dominance at the yo-yo test. That boy, Uday Saharan, not only showed impressive fitness but also caught the eye with his leadership skills.“You can see that attitude, that ‘boss, I am not here just to attend the camp, I want to be best at everything,’” Mandeep Singh tells The Indian Express. “Also, at a young age, Uday was challenging the seniors to do well. He is talented, that’s why he is playing for India U-19, but he had that extra spark in him. He is never satisfied with himself.”
All those traits were visible on Tuesday against South Africa in the U-19 World Cup semi-final in Benoni. Uday walked out with the team reeling at 8 for 2 in the chase of 245. South Africa’s pace duo Kwena Maphaka and Tran Luus were at their intimidating best. Soon, India was 32 for 4, but the Indian captain showed exemplary leadership quality continuously talking to his partner Sachin Dhas. The duo put on 171 runs for the fifth wicket, which helped India to a two-wicket victory and their fifth straight final.
India will take on the winner of the match between Australia and Pakan in the title clash.
Back in Sri Ganganagar, his father and coach Sanjeev Saharan says the knock reminded him of an academy match, which he won when everyone had given up.
“He hates losing. He has that self-belief that he can win the match for his team from any situation. A couple of years back, he was home and my academy was playing a match, where we were six down for around 50-odd and needed 100 more runs to win. He won that match, exactly in the same fashion he played today,” says Sanjeev, an ayurveda doctor who used to run his own academy.
Musheer Khan has been India’s most talked-about batsman in the tournament, but Saharan has done his work quietly. In the first match against Bangladesh, he scored 64, after India lost two quick wickets and played second fiddle to Adarsh Singh. Against Ireland, his 75 was overshadowed Musheer’s century. Sachin Dhas’ century garnered more praise than Uday’s against Nepal. However, with 389 runs, Uday has become the tournament’s leading run-scorer.
“It is one thing to score your own runs. It is difficult to guide your partner as well. You can see that in his batting in every single match. He plays the role of the perfect partner. He understands that it is not an individual sport, you need collective brilliance to win matches and tournaments,” Sanjeev showers praise on his son.
Mature display
During Tuesday’s partnership, Dhas was the aggressor while Uday was the accumulator. The latter soaked up pressure at one end and was continuously talking to his partner, who went on a counter-attack. At the post-match presentation, he spoke about “self-belief”.
“I believed in myself. I had to take the game deep. Just wanted one partnership and that will win the game for us. That’s what happened. My Dad used to tell me to take the game deep, hit the big shots towards the end and not before that,” he told the broadcasters.
After winning the toss, India chose to field. Fifties from Lhuan-dre Pretorius (76), who gave a glimpse of former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, and Richard Selestwane (64) helped the hosts post 244 for 7. Raj Limbani (3 for 60) was the pick of the bowlers, but it was spinners Saumy Pandey, Musheer Khan and Priyanshu Moliya who choked the run flow.
When India came out to bat, pacers Maphaka (3 for 32) and Luus (3 for 37) rattled the top order. Adarsh Singh got an absolute brute from the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Maphaka.
Musheer, like his brother Sarfaraz Khan, has his shortcomings against pace. He was all at sea against Luus, who Ian Bishop on commentary compared to Dale Steyn. Musheer was in two minds whether to leave or play and ended up edging one. The lack of foot movement led to Arshin Kulkarni’s demise. Luus was not done yet as Moliya perished trying to play away from the body.
“When I came in, the ball was bouncing and cutting. I had to play cautiously. When the ball became older, the pitch settled in and it became easier for us as we went along,” said Uday.
Riley Norton and Nqobani Mokoena were impressive in their first spell but lacked the bite of Maphaka and Luus. South Africa skipper Juan James also missed a trick not bringing back his strike bowlers early. Both Maphaka and Luus came after 34 overs were bowled and then, Uday and Sachin had taken the game away. Towards the end, Maphaka removed Dhas and Aravelly Avanish to keep South Africa in the hunt. The run-out of Murugan Abhishek turned the tide in favour of the Proteas but Limbani’s six off Norton put Indian back in the driver’s seat. Uday failed to finish the match, falling short going for the winning run but the match ended the very next ball with Limbani hitting the winning boundary.
