Musheer Khan's flamboyant knock of 131, his second century in three innings, followed by bowling figures of 2 for 10 in 3.1 overs helped India register an emphatic 214-run victory against New Zealand in the first game of the Super Six stage of the 2024 U19 World Cup. During his knock, which made him the leading run-getter in the tournament, Musheer executed the iconic helicopter shot, smashing a humongous six over deep mid-wicket, perhaps even better than the legendary India captain MS Dhoni.
Musheer smoked the six in the 46th over of India's innings at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, shortly after becoming the second Indian batter to score multiple hundreds in a single U19 World Cup edition after Shikhar Dhawan (3 centuries in 2004). Right-arm fast bowler Mason Clarke dished out a slower delivery into the slot and the 18-year-old India batter brought out the full-blooded swing, sending the ball flying into the grass banks over deep mid-wicket for a huge six. Musheer held the pose and let it sink in.
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The 'Helicopter Shot' is synonymous with former India captain Dhoni, who often executed it to score boundaries against full and yorker-length deliveries. However, the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter was not the true inventor of the shot, as revealed in his biopic, 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story'. Dhoni had learned the shot from his childhood friend Santosh Lal. In the movie, 'reel Dhoni' asked his friend to teach him the ‘Thappad Shot’, as he used to call it, in exchange for some samosas.
{{/usCountry}}The 'Helicopter Shot' is synonymous with former India captain Dhoni, who often executed it to score boundaries against full and yorker-length deliveries. However, the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter was not the true inventor of the shot, as revealed in his biopic, 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story'. Dhoni had learned the shot from his childhood friend Santosh Lal. In the movie, 'reel Dhoni' asked his friend to teach him the ‘Thappad Shot’, as he used to call it, in exchange for some samosas.
{{/usCountry}}Musheer's knock of 131, where he managed to forge a fifty-run stand with opener Adarsh Singh and stitch a 100-run partnership with captain Uday Sharan, helped India set a stiff target of 296.
In reply, Saumy Pandey cast his magic yet again, picking four wickets for just 19 runs, as New Zealand folded for 81. Raj Limbani and Musheer picked two wickets apiece.
With the win - their third straight 200-plus run victory in the tournament - India moved a step closer to securing their spot in the semifinal. India will play their final Super Six game against Nepal on February 2.