"Junior Abhishek Sharma": Vaibhav Suryavanshi Given Unique Praise Ahead Of U19 World Cup Final

Former Indian all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi hailed Vaibhav Suryanvanshi's quickfire knock in the ICC U19 World Cup semifinal against Afghanistan, calling him the "Junior Abhishek Sharma" for his hitting. He also adviced him to adapt to the ODI tempo by taking some more time at the crease. In a mammoth run-chase of 311 runs in the semifinal, Suryavanshi wasted no time in taking pressure off Team India, blazing to a 33-ball 68, with nine fours and four sixes in his fiery 90-run stand with Aaron George, who took some time watching Suryavanshi fire before putting out a masterclass century of his own. The duo made it easy for half-century skipper Ayush Mhatre and Vihaan Malhotra as India pulled off the best-ever chase in U19 WC history to make to their record 10th title clash in the tournament.

Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Dil Se India', Sodhi lauded Suryavanshi's "different level of batting" while also advising him to take some time to settle down, adding that he could have scored 150-175 runs on that surface.

"He is fabulous. This is a different level of batting. This was a knock played under huge pressure. A target of 311 could have been difficult. Vaibhav Suryavanshi was the key to this run chase. If he plays well, then we will win the game, and that is exactly what happened. He hits even the good balls for sixes. The bowler would be thinking, where does he bowl to him? When the ball leaves your hand, you think it has come out nicely, pitched in the right spot, swung, but when it hits the bat, it goes straight into the stands," he said.

"This is what Suryavanshi does, and it will be impossible to stop him in his current form. However, I would urge him to remember it's a 50-over contest and to take one or two extra balls. He could have scored 150-175 on this pitch the way he was going. But he will learn that. He is slowly becoming a junior Abhishek Sharma, but he is still very young. If he keeps improving, he will go miles and miles ahead," he added.

Sodhi, who was the the member of the 2000 U19 WC winning team with legendary Yuvraj Singh, said that Englands will have to be wary of India's batting firepower, since "getting them out would not be easy.

"They would have made even England sweat after such a performance. Because when you chase down a big score in such a manner, you instil fear in other teams' minds. England would be thinking, 'How do we get this line-up out?' You have Vaibhav Suryavanshi in cracking form, Aaron scoring runs in the semi-final, captain Ayush Mhatre coming back into form, and then there is Vedant, who didn't have much to do in this game. Vihaan is in good form, and Kanishk has done well too. I think India have a real chance of winning this World Cup," he concluded.

Batting first, centuries from Faizal Shinozada (110 in 93 balls, with 15 fours) and Uzairullah Niazai (101* in 86 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes) stood out as Afghanistan made a gigantic 310/4, with Deepesh Devendran and Kanishk Chauhan taking two wickets each.

In the run-case, Suryavanshi slammed another half-century, his third in the tournament, scoring 68 in just 33 balls, striking nine fours and four sixes in a knock that took the pressure off the Indian team. These runs were the majority of the 90-run opening stand.

In this tournament, Suryavanshi has scored 264 runs in six innings at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of over 147, with three fifties and a best score of 72. His 15 sixes are the most by an Indian in a U19 WC edition and joint-second-highest, with South African sensation Dewald Brevis's 18 sixes in the 2022 edition being the record.

George, with his 115 in 104 balls, with 15 fours and two sixes, joined a group of Indian stars with century in U19 WC knockouts, including Cheteshwar Pujara (129* vs England in 2006 SF), Unmukt Chand (111* vs Australia in 2012 final), Rishabh Pant (111 vs Namibia in 2016 edition QF), Yash Dhull (110 vs Australia in 2022 SF), Ravneet Ricky (108 vs Australia in 2000 SF), Yashasvi Jaiswal (105* vs Pakistan in 2020 SF), Shubman Gill (102* vs Pakistan in 2018 SF) and Manjot Kalra (101* vs Australia in 2018 final).

These two made it easy for skipper Ayush Mhatre (62 in 59 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Vihaan Malhotra (38* in 47 balls, with three fours) to chase it down with seven wickets and almost nine overs left. Now, India will meet England in the title clash on Friday.

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