MUMBAI: India routed England by 100 runs at Harare on Friday to win their sixth U19 World Cup. Opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came out all guns blazing after India elected to bat first and broke several records en route to his belligerent 80-ball 175 (15x4, 15x4).
Brijesh Jha, Vaibhav's childhood coach, was a happy man given his ward's show in the final, which eventually landed him two awards - Player of the Final and Player of the Tournament.
"It was a commendable performance," Jha told this daily. The coach also expects a call from the senior India team sooner rather than later for Vaibhav. "I believe that the all-important call is round the corner. He might be given a chance (at the senior level). Anyway he is playing IPL with all these international cricketers and proved his mettle at the U19 level as well. Time to test him at the highest level," added the coach.
Jha started coaching Vaibhav when he was just four at his Cricket Academy in Samastipur. Before Vaibhav, another of Jha's disciples, Anukul Roy, had represented India in the U19 World Cup and helped them win the 2018 edition. Roy finished as the joint-highest wicket taker of the tournament. The left-arm spinner claimed two wickets in the final against Australia. Jha said Roy inspired hundreds of children with his performance and Vaibhav was one of them.
"It was Anukul, who inspired Vaibhav with his show six eight years ago. Now Vaibhav has been inspiring other kids of not only Bihar but across the country. This is how it works. If you have a role model, it's easy to climb up the ladder and create a name for yourself. Anukul did the same to Vaibhav and now Vaibhav will serve the same purpose by inspiring hundreds of other kids."
Such was Vaibhav's impact in the summit clash that at one time it felt that India would cross even the 450-run mark. With the left-hand batter sending England bowlers on a leather hunt, India reached 250 in just 25 overs. However, once he departed, the scoring rate slowed down but they posted 411. Vaibhav's 175 is now the highest score by any batter in an ICC tournament final.
Jha said it was an incredible innings by Vaibhav but also credited the team for the title triumph. "In the end, it's a team game and all the 11 players on the field played a part in the win. Vaibhav was extraordinary and that is what he does when he is in form. Hopefully, he continues doing that for a long time," signed off the coach.