Mushir Khan played a spectacular knock of 131, his double century in three innings, and then bowled 2 for 10 in 3.1 overs as India faced New Zealand in the first match of the 2024 U19 Super 6 stage. They won a huge 214-run victory. World Cup. Mushir, who became the top run-getter in the tournament, played the iconic helicopter shot during his knock and hit a mammoth six over deep midwicket, perhaps even more than legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni. It seems to have been excellent.
Mushir hit six in the 46th over of India's innings at Bloemfontein's Mangan Oval, shortly after becoming the second-highest scorer in a single appearance at the Under-19 World Cup after Shikhar Dhawan (three centuries in 2004). He became the second Indian batsman to do so. Right-arm fast bowler Mason Clarke played a slow ball into the slot and the 18-year-old Indian batsman took a full swing and sent the ball over deep midwicket into the grass bank for a big six. The masher held his pose and let it sink.
The 'helicopter shot' is synonymous with former India captain Dhoni, who often executed it to thwart full shots and yorker-length shots. However, as revealed in his biopic 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story', the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman was not the true inventor of the shot. Dhoni learned the shot from his childhood friend Santosh Lal. In the film, 'Lil Dhoni' asks his friend to give him the 'thappad shot', as he used to call it, in exchange for a samosa.
Mushir's knock of 131 helped him build a 50-run stand with opener Adarsh Singh and stitch a 100-run partnership with captain Uday Sharan as India set a tough target of 296. It was helpful.
In response, Saumy Pandey worked his magic again, picking four wickets for just 19 runs as New Zealand folded for 81. Raj Limbani and Musheer picked two wickets each.
The win marks India's third consecutive 200-plus run win in the tournament and takes them one step closer to securing a place in the semi-finals. India will play their last Super Six match against Nepal on February 2.
