After guiding his team to the final of the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, India Under-19 skipper Yash Dhull talked about the partnership with his deputy Shaikh Rasheed in the crucial semifinal against Australia on Wednesday. The duo shared a 204-run stand to fire India to a formidable 290 for five after opting to bat.
Dhul (110 off 110 balls) became the third Indian captain to hit a hundred in the tournament history after illustrious Virat Kohli and the prodigious Unmukt Chand, also hailing from Delhi.
Dhull said it was a proud moment for him to score a historic century in the marquee ICC tournament. The talented youngster said that the plan was to bat steadily till the end to post a formidable total in front of Australia.
“The plan from me and Rasheed was to bat till the end, and it worked. It’s a proud moment (to be the third Indian captain to score a U19 WC ton after Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand). The idea was to bat steadily, not to try too many shots, and to bat past the 40th over. Myself and Rasheed bat well together, we combined well and it showed,” Dhull said after the game.
He further heaped praises on his deputy and said that Rasheed is very strong mentally.
“Shaik Rasheed and I had a good partnership and we had good partnerships lower down as well. The way in which the boys are playing is good. Shaik Rasheed is mentally very strong. We were in the bubble together and he is always mentally prepared,” he added.
India opted to put runs on the board after winning the toss, knowing it wasn’t the easiest of pitches to bat on.
Australian pacers bowled well in the opening powerplay and the fact that Indian openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi (6 off 30) and Harnoor Singh (16 off 30) were also overtly defensive, helped them build pressure.
William Salzmann rocked Raghuvanshi’s off-stump with a beauty that straightened after pitching.
Harnoor, who has not met the high expectations he set for himself, tried to pull a rising ball on leg stump from Tobia Snell only to glove it back to the wicketkeeper, leaving India at 37 for two in the 13th over.
India’s two best batters, Dhull and Rasheed, then got together to lift the team out of a spot of bother.
Playing only their third game of the tournament after missing two due to COVID, Rasheed and Dhull showed maturity beyond their age to build the innings.
(With Agency Inputs)
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