U-19 Asia Cup final: Expect a high-tension, low-scoring game but Indian batting might give them the edge

One would have thought that the drama won’t percolate through to the juniors. But last Sunday, it was evident that the colts were taking their cues from the seniors, deciding not to shake hands.

A high-pressure fixture against the arch-rivals throws up a different sort of challenge in terms of preparing for the U-19 World Cup, particularly for the business end when there is added pressure, India have a chance to get familiar with such situations that only a fixture against Pakistan can throw up.

Ditto for Pakistan. Both teams are buzzing with exciting talents who could anyway bring plenty of eyeballs to this fixture.

With the upcoming Under-19 World Cup around the corner, India appear to be a well-oiled machine. As has been the case for over a decade, it is a tournament that India’s cricketing eco-system puts plenty of emphasis on, providing the players every opportunity to give their best. The story is no different for the current bunch led by Ayush Mhatre and ahead of the World Cup with still a tri-series to come up soon, the Asia Cup final against Pakistan would undoubtedly be a box to tick.

The good thing for India is that they have made it to the final despite two of their best batsmen Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Mhatre yet to fire against big opponents. Out of the four matches they have played, two have been against UAE and Malaysia. Against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the semifinals, it was Aaron George who proved to be their hero. In a batting line-up that also features Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi and Abhigyan Kundu, it has been George’s calmness that has stood out.

There is every reason to be optimistic that the boy from Hyderabad will emerge as India’s batting torchbearer in the future. With an elegance and style that is a feature of batsmen hailing from the city, he has shown he can change gears as per the situation. In a line-up that has enterprising batsmen, particularly at the top, it is George that holds them like a glue.

There are others too

Malhotra may not be blessed with ideal footwork yet, but has wonderful bat speed that allows him to swat deliveries. Wicketkeeper Kundu is another exciting prodigy who can land punches even if the top order fails. Against Malaysia last week, he hit an unbeaten 209 off 125 deliveries, showing he can step up in case his batting peers have an off-day.

Complimenting this exciting set of batsmen are the equally gifted pacers. In Kishan Singh and Udhav Mohan, India has two seamers who can make the white ball move. And beyond them is the most menacing of them all – Deepesh Devendran, whose bouncers have left opponents rattled.

To support the pacers, there are two spinners in Khilan Patel and Kanishk Chouhan.

So, the job at hand for Pakistan isn’t simple. At this level, they have always been brimming with bright talents and going by the indications from the tournaments so far, it is the bowling front that has a definite edge over their batsmen.

Ali Raza, the tall seamer who takes the new ball, will test India’s top order with movement and accuracy. His partner, left-arm seamer Mohammad Sayyam breathes fire. Apart from troubling batsmen with pace and the lift he is able to generate, he already has an in-swinger to the right-hander in the armoury – a lethal weapon to possess.

Against India in the group fixture, they appeared to get carried away. Instead of focusing on their strengths, they tried to scare the Indian batsmen with pace and lost accuracy. The Indians had handled the speed and ensured the bad deliveries were punished.

But once the Pakistan attack started hitting the right lengths, they regained some control. With the bat, without any standout talent like what India possess, they will need a collective effort to come out on top.

Given the quality of bowling on both sides, it could well turn out to be another low-scoring contest which will be decided by which batting group handles the situation better.