Hyd boy Aaron’s ton steers India into U-19 World Cup final

Hyderabad: It was neither teen prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi nor the better known skipper Ayush Mhatre who bailed India out when it mattered most. Little-known Hyderabad lad Aaron George batted with effortless ease against Afghanistan on Wednesday to steer India into the U-19 World Cup final with a swashbuckling knock of 115.Chasing a challenging target of 311 in Harare, Zimbabwe, the highest ever to be accomplished by India in the history of tournament, the five-time champions cantered home in style in just 41.1 overs.
Aaron's 104-ball 115 made the imposing target look like a child's play. Opening the innings with the hard-hitting Suryavanshi, Aaron shepherded the chase with a cautious approach. Even after Suryavanshi got out after a quickfire 68, Aaron combined with Mhatre to add another 96 runs for the second wicket.The 19-year-old is coming back from an injury setback. He had hurt his elbow during the nets and was forced to sit out of India's first two matches – against USA and Bangladesh. He was also coming into this match on the back of poor performances – and scored 7, 23 and 16 in his three previous games."I was very grateful for the opportunity, especially in such a crucial game for the team. I'm happy I could contribute. I knew I was batting well, so the conversion definitely mattered. I'm glad I trusted the process and kept believing in my game," said Aaron after receiving the player of the match award.Aaron has been doing the role of anchor and aggressor, when needed, to perfection ever since he started playing for Hyderabad in the age-group categories. He was instrumental in Hyderabad winning their first-ever age group tournament – Vinoo Mankad trophy - last year. He not only led the side but also top-scored with 373 runs and was among top three batters of the tournament.Aaron, who started playing cricket at the age of 6 with his father Easo Varghese, initially trained with coach B Subhash Chander and a couple of years later, moved to train with Biju Nair who trained him in one-on-one sessions.Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar, who trains him currently, said the youngster has one of the fastest hands in the game. "The clarity he has about his game is impressive. Today, he played his role to perfection with Suryavanshi and Mhatre. He is a thinking cricketer. I have seen top players at close quarters and one thing that impressed me was his hands speed. He can make any good bowler look ordinary," he explained."Today, he read the situation and the pitch well. He played with straight hands and if you see his boundaries, they were all on the off-side. That shows his awareness," complemented Sridhar.Coach Biju Nair was impressed with the authority with which he played. "I was very impressed with the belief he had in himself. Because he had a couple of starts but could not convert them. But he was determined to do it today. I am really happy that he had the faith in himself and he delivered when it mattered," said Nair.He reckons that the dedication and hard work he put in during the training paid dividends. "He's a good student of the game and he analyses the situation very well. He puts his head down and grinds in the nets. That's what makes him a great student. He is an all-format player. When he played in Vinoo Mankad and won the trophy for Hyderabad, he was doing a different role of being an aggressor. Today, he showed he can be the anchor. It is an awesome feeling to see him score a century in the World Cup semis. I hope he carries this into the final and makes the whole country proud," he hoped.His father was ecstatic. "As a father, I am very proud. He has gone through a lot during the tournament. But today he looked determined to perform," he said.