U-19 World Cup: Sarfaraz Khan’s big bite after teething problem

There India were then, 55/4 and staring down the barrel. Against Ireland, a team that shouldn’t have been here if Australia didn’t pull out on security grounds. The 16-year-old left-armer Joshua Little generated some serious pace early on at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium and kept it pretty accurate as well to make it difficult for the batsmen. Other bowlers, too, stepped up on a somewhat helpful wicket. Australia surely weren’t missed.

Sterring to safety

At the other end stood the portly figure of Sarfaraz Khan. He has been there before — at the under-19 World Cup, with India were four down and a spot of bother — and he has done that. Walking in at 94/4 against Pakistan in the 2014 edition, Sarfaraz hit a 78-ball 74 and added 119 runs with Sanju Samson to steer India to safety. Till then Sarfaraz was a child prodigy who had once scored 439 in a Harris Shield match. He can look back and say that the knock against Pakistan Under 19s was when he became a man. That innings went a long way in making him what he is: an IPL star. Today, he the coolest cat in the junior dressing room. A Huck Finn among a bunch of wide-eyed boys who picks on AB de Villers’s brain and rubs shoulders with Chris Gayle. Given the height difference, let’s says rubs his shoulder with Gayle’s elbow.

While his team-mates adore him, casual observers often try to pick faults in his temperament and aggression.

However, even though he does have a childlike behaviour off the field, on it when the situation demands, his batting is as mature as it can get. And the situation demanded calmness on Thursday. With a willing Washington Sundar for company, Sarfaraz went out about rebuilding the innings. With Rory Anders and Gary McClintock bowling a probing line, runs weren’t coming off easily. Sarfaraz waited for his opportunity. He had made 17 runs off 29 balls when Ireland captain Jack Tector brought back Tom Stanton. Stanton bowls at 100-110 kph left-arm medium. There wasn’t much swing on offer for him, and it gave Sarfaraz an opportunity to free his arms. A high full toss was duly dispatched to the mid-wicket fence. In the next over, leg-spinner Varun Chopra bowled one short which was gleefully put away.

Sprinting partnership

All this while Sarfaraz and Washington also ran a number singles and doubles. Despite not having scored too many boundaries, their 110-run partnership came at more than run a ball.

“It was a crucial partnership, because we had lost four wickets. He also opens the batting for our team, so I was confident that he would be able to tackle the swing and seam. Our lower order is fine, so we were focussed on playing as long as possible,” Sarfaraz said after the match.

This running between the wickets on Thursday also points at a big improvement that Sarfaraz has made in recently. He has become much fitter than what he used to be. In the Bangalore dressing room, they call him “Panda” — after the fat lead character in the animation movie Kung Fu Panda. They would be surprised to see him now. While a bit of belly fat still remains, the waistline has shrunk significantly.

“It has happened by seeing Virat bhai. After playing in IPL, you get to learn new things and you try to implement those things in your overall development. From Virat bhai, I have learned how much importance to give my fitness,” he added.

He was stumped at 74 off Harry Tector, and India lost another wicket soon, but Washington hung on. Unlike Sarfaraz, the Chennai lad doesn’t look to muscle the ball. A wristy player he looks for, and neatly finds, the gaps in the field. He took India past 200 before hitting one straight to mid-wicket. Sixty-two very stylish and important runs came off his blade. Ansari and the tail wagged and took India to 268. And two quick runouts early on pretty much put paid to Ireland’s hopes. Safaraz was named man of the match, but he wasn’t happy.

“I thought had I batted for a bit longer, I could have achieved a big score of 100-150. But, no problem I will get it next time.” “Panda” might have become leaner but retains his appetite. For runs.

Brief scores: India 268/9 in 50 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 74, Washington Sundar 62; Rory Anders 3/35, Joshua Little 3/52) beat Ireland 189 in 49.1 overs (Lorcan Tucker 57, William McClintock 58; Rahul Batham 3/15, Avesh Khan 2/24, Mahipal Lomor 2/28) by 79 runs.