Even in the era of T20 cricket, India's U-19 captain doesn't worry too much about his strike rate, preferring to take his time and work deeply on the game
raunak kapoor
Sri Ganganagar, the northernmost city in the state of Rajasthan, covers an area of less than 225 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 200,000 people, and is perhaps best known as the birthplace of India's legendary ghazal singer and musician Jagjit Singh. .
By Sunday evening, City may have given India its sixth U-19 Men's World Cup-winning captain.
Uday Saharan moved from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan to play age-group cricket in Punjab after his father Sanjeev, who is also a coach, decided it was time to take cricket seriously.
Both Singh's music and Sahara's batting share timeless elements.
Saharan, who will be heading into the final, has batted for 644 minutes, bowled 493 balls and scored 389 runs in this tournament, the second highest by an Indian batsman in a single tournament. The record remains Shikhar Dhawan's 505 in 2004. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 88 in the 2020 final to score 400 points. If Sahrawi scores 100 points in the final, he could rise to the top.
But it's not about his own run, it's about what happened to India while the Sahara was at stake, and more importantly, how much happened. Almost 53% of India's orchids are centered in the Sahara desert.
He has had partnerships over 50 points in every game, with four games over 100 points and three games over 150 points. His 215 points against Nepal with Sachin Das is India's record in the U-19 World Cup.
In India's two most important matches of the tournament, the match against Bangladesh and the semi-final match against South Africa, Saharan appeared with 2 for 31 and 2 for 8, respectively. Adarsh Singh (vs. Bangladesh) and Das (vs. South Africa) played match-deciding innings, but the Sahrawis kept the team from collapsing.
The earliest a team can dismiss the Indian captain is in the 37th over of the innings.
Saharan is a throwback to the old school of batting. Take your time to get in, eliminate risk almost completely, and don't have to worry about strike rates. What he learned and inherited from his father.
“My father told me from the beginning to always go deep and go into the game as deep as possible,” Saharan told Star Sports before the final. “Nowadays batsmen like to play shots and try to end the match quickly, but my father's mindset, which I know is old-fashioned, is to always have the wicket in hand and deepen the match. It was a thing. Depending on the situation, given the type of hitters we have today, you can go after anything.”
Sahara's batting style often provokes debates about intent at senior level, especially in white-ball cricket. However, the surfaces in the World Cup were generally difficult for batsmen and his methods worked wonders for the team as they scored just 3 runs over 300 in 40 matches, 2 of which were by India. .
“I've already played a lot of pressure games… Those games are about how you react to different situations, how your opponent is likely to react to what happens. , taught me how bowlers bowl.”Uday Sahara
“To be completely honest, of course I want to go out there and play with the big shots,” he says. “I try to make shots in the air and hit sixes because that's what people want to see today. But really, I want my team to win, I want my country to win, and that's what people want to see. It's a point of pride for me. So if my game requires me to play a second role to keep the team in the game, I'm willing to do that.”
Saharan's team values his contributions more than the final scorecard. It may be debatable that Das hit 81 off 124 and 96 off 95 in the semi-finals to win the Player of the Match award, but the emotions of the Indian team immediately after winning the award were They cheered and praised their captain. It probably showed that they might not have gotten over the line without him.
Adarsh, Mushir Khan and Das, who won the Player of the Match award in the last match, all spoke about Saharan's awareness of the game and what they expect from different bowlers at different stages of the match through their partnership. He takes credit for his communication. Even at 19 years old, it feels natural.
“I've already played a lot of high-pressure games,” he says. “I’m only 19 years old, but from my cricket experience at club, district and state level, I’ve played these innings before. It taught me how the opposition is likely to react to what happened,” about how the bowler bowls. I feel like I have learned a lot of knowledge from the cricket I have already played, so I would like to share it with the rest of the team. If my information can be useful to my partners and make them think and understand the match situation better, that will help the team. ”
Before the final, Saharan became the tournament's top scorer. He had not been on top at any point before the semi-finals. He has also largely continued on his way to the top, with only 29 of his 389 records (27 4s and 2 6s) leading to him finishing in the top six. This is the smallest number. This is also a testament to his fitness, inspired by his role models. Virat Kohli.
“Virat Kohli has set the fitness standard for the Indian team,” Saharan says. “That's something I've always admired. The benefits of fitness in the game are immense and that inspired me. Also, the way he goes deep into the innings and goes after the ace, and his passion. , is what I try to emulate.”
Saharan has already surpassed his role models and other captains in India's U-19 World Cup. However, Kohli's 235 runs in 2008 at a strike rate of 94.75 caught the attention of Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of his maiden IPL season, paving the way for the likes of Anmukt Chand, Prithvi Shaw and Yash Dar to follow in his footsteps. Open.
Despite the demands of modern white-ball competitions, the Sahara may perhaps be different. It is unlikely that his runs at a strike rate of 78.90 impressed his IPL scouts, who were in attendance throughout the tournament.
Saharan is only 19 years old and will likely evolve his game over time. But it was his ability to withstand pressure and display discipline in the T20 tournament that everyone grew up with in his cricketing days that took India one game closer to his sixth title. .
As the debate over the future of the ODI format drags on, India's 50-over victory in the World Cup, both senior and junior, can only help revive the ODI format's popularity.
Jagjit Singh was widely known for reviving and popularizing ghazal, a form of Indian semi-classical singing, by choosing poems that were relevant to the masses. His work was considered genre-defining. Uday Saharan is one innings away from poetically defeating Australia in the ICC final in the 50-over genre. For the Indian masses, nothing is more relevant than a World Cup victory.
Raunak Kapoor is the Deputy Editor (Video) and Lead Presenter at ESPNcricinfo. @RaunakRK
