Vaibhav Suryavanshi's Coach Reveals The Message That Spurred By Star To Score 175 In U-19 World Cup Final vs England
Just after India won their U-19 World Cup semi-final against Afghanistan, Manish Ojha sent a WhatsApp message to his favourite ward, Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Just after India won their U-19 World Cup semi-final against Afghanistan, Manish Ojha sent a WhatsApp message to his favourite ward, Vaibhav Suryavanshi. It was a complaint of sorts. "After he scored 68 against Afghanistan, I sent him a WhatsApp message and told him, 'Yeh pehla tournament hoga jismein tumhara ek bhi century nahi hoga. Ek baar final mein set ho gaye, toh chhod ke mat aana' (This will be the first tournament where you might end up without a century. If you manage to get set in the final, don't throw it away)," a beaming Ojha told PTI after Suryavanshi scripted history by smashing 15 fours and 15 sixes against England in Harare on Friday.
With those hits, Suryavanshi blazed away to the second-fastest hundred in the history of the U-19 World Cup, reaching the landmark in just 55 balls. He ultimately finished with 175 off 80 deliveries.
Ojha's message to the 14-year-old was not just a reminder to score big, but also meant to point out a slight technical flaw that was becoming a hindrance in converting starts into three-figure scores.
"He was having problems with the pull shot, so I briefly discussed the technical aspects."
So what exactly did he tell him?
"His head was tilting backwards and the back knee was collapsing a bit. When the short balls were bowled on the bodyline, they could be pulled easily towards square leg or fine leg.
"But from the same body position, when those short balls were pitched on off-stump, he was top-edging them. I told him that if he is playing the deliveries on the body with that head and feet alignment, it is fine.
"But if he wants to pull from outside off-stump, the head should be upright or slightly towards the ball so that he gets full arm extension to pack power into his shots."
Suryavanshi is not even 15, and he already has four hundreds at the senior level - three in T20s, including one IPL ton, and one in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
How is he being shielded from the glitz and glamour that come with being a 'boy wonder'?
"He is a little kid and still very unaware of worldly things. One good thing was that after last year's IPL, there has been so much cricket that he didn't have any chance to look right or left.
"He went on U-19 tours of England and Australia, played the Rising Stars Asia Cup, played the U-19 Asia Cup, and in between featured in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
"He has hardly spent a week in Samastipur with his parents. I got to meet him when he played Bihar's home game in Patna," Ojha said while describing his student's packed schedule.
The coach believes his consistency has been a revelation even for him.
"I don't think a lot has changed in terms of style, but in the last one year, if you track his white-ball scores across tournaments, you will see he is making big hundreds. His top score in domestic T20s is 144, and in List A, it is 190. Today he scored 175.
"In Rising Stars, he scored a big ton. This is consistency. Three fifties and now 175 in a match that matters. His qualitative maturity has increased very quickly. If he gets set, he doesn't let go easily.
"...the intensity and attacking intent have increased. Obviously he has played international bowlers in the IPL and senior bowlers in the Ranji Trophy, SMAT and Vijay Hazare Trophy. But when you look at the final of a World Cup, you know the pressure of expectations. In fact, we feel more pressure than Vaibhav," Ojha laughed.
During the last Asia Cup, Suryavanshi had momentarily lost his cool after getting out against Pakistan, but Ojha said that no one "scolded him".
"You don't need to scold a kid who is a special talent. Vaibhav is special because of his ability to grasp technical knowledge quicker than others.
"He is perhaps the only one among my hundreds of students over the years who has not been scolded. If I told him to do something once, he would do it twice."
But amid all the hype, neither Ojha nor Suryavanshi's parents forget that he is still a kid who has just entered his early teens.
"There were SMAT matches in Kolkata and VHT in Ranchi during the domestic season where his family travelled, and I also accompanied them. We try to ensure that he doesn't feel homesick. Whenever there are games in India, the parents try to be around. He feels happy.
"At the end of the day, he is a 14-year-old. Aakhir bachcha hi toh hai (He is a kid after all)."
India U19
England U19