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Ayush Mhatre breaks McCullum's record as India U19 come agonisingly close to thrilling win; cluster collapse ruins party
In the second unofficial Test against England, India U19 captain Ayush Mhatre smashed 126 runs off 80 balls in the second innings.
India U19, led by Ayush Mhatre, came agonisingly close to registering a thrilling victory over England U19 in the second unofficial Test at Chelmsford. However, a late collapse in the final session spoiled the party, and the visitors had to settle for a hard-fought draw. India were set a target of 335 runs on the final day, and nobody would have expected Mhatre and co to have a crack at the chase. However, the visitors looked to chase down the total from ball No.1.
Star opening batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi was dismissed for a golden duck as he got out on the first ball he faced off the bowling of Alex Green. However, the 18-year-old Ayush Mhatre then took the centre stage, smashing a century off just 64 balls.
With this feat, the right-handed batter registered the third-fastest Youth Test hundred. He finally got dismissed after scoring 126 runs off 80 balls. His innings was studded with 13 fours and six sixes. He had also scored 80 runs in the first innings.
With a total haul of 206 runs, Mhatre became just the second batter after New Zealand's Brendon McCullum to score more than 200 runs in a Youth Test with a strike rate of more than 100. Mhatre batted in the match with a 121.17 strike rate as compared to McCullum’s 108.41 in a Youth Test against South Africa in 2001.
McCullum, who was the New Zealand U19 skipper back then, had scored 186 runs from 172 balls in the first innings. He backed it up with a knock of 46 not out from 42 balls in the second innings.
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Mhatre also smashed nine sixes in the contest, breaking the record of Manoj Tiwary for registering the most sixes in a Youth Test. The Chennai Super Kings batter had also scored a century in the first unofficial Test as well.
Contest ends in a draw
India came agonisingly close to pulling off a heist at Chelmsford as they were going all guns blazing at 217/2 in the 28th over. However, the visitors lost the next four wickets for just 46 runs.
Harvansh Pangalia and Kanishk Chouhan then played out a draw as they shut the shop. The duo remained unbeaten on 29 and 12, and India finished with the score of 290/6 in 43 overs.
Both unofficial Tests between India and England U19 ended in draws. Earlier, India had won the ODI series 3-2. In the five-match series, Suryavanshi was the star of the show, scoring 355 runs in five matches, including a 143-run knock in the fourth ODI.
