CHENNAI: Yashbardhan Chauhan was part of the India U19 team that played three Youth ODIs and two Youth Tests in Sri Lanka in July this year. The Youth ODIs in Hambantota turned out to be forgettable outings for the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder as he could score only 43 runs (31, 6, 6) across three innings and went wicketless in all the games. In the first Youth Test, he claimed a four-wicket haul in Sri Lanka's second innings. He then scored 78 runs in the next match to add some respect to his numbers during the tour.
Not happy with his performance in the Island Nation, Yashbardhan, on return to India, headed straight to Indore and attended two camps, 10-day each, at the Holkar Stadium held by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA). It worked wonders for the 17-year-old spin bowling all-rounder as the right-hand batter did a star turn for India U19 against Australia U19 in the first two Youth ODIs, helping his side to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series. In the rain-truncated first match in Rajkot, he scored 58 runs and claimed 2/28 with his off-break bowling as India U19 won the contest by seven runs. On Monday, he took it a notch higher, scoring 122 runs and bagging 2/56, with the hosts winning the match by a huge margin of 102 runs. Fittingly, Chauhan won his second straight Player of the Match trophy.
"He was not happy with his performance in Sri Lanka and that's why he decided to attend camps organised by MPCA in Indore," Anami Singh Chauhan, Yashbardhan's father, told this daily. "He attended two camps of 10 days each there to work on a few things, which affected his performance in Sri Lanka. I am happy he managed to iron out those flaws and score runs and bag wickets against Australia 19. He is also in the squad for Youth Tests but before that I want him to continue his good form in the last Youth ODI," added the father.
Besides Chauhan, VK Vineeth also hit 87 as India U19 put on a huge score of 341 runs on the scoreboard at the Niranjan Shah Stadium. India then used as many as seven different bowling options to bowl out Australia U19 for 239 in 41.1 overs. Medium pacer Chigurupati Venkata was the pick of the bowlers with 3/64, while Kavya Patel and Chauhan claimed two wickets each.
Earlier, India lost their openers — captain Lakshya Raichandani (41) and Aaryavir Sehwag (47) — with the scoreboard reading 101. Chauhan then joined forces with Vineeth and added 122 runs for the third wicket. For Australia, pacer Thomas Vaseo took 3/78.
Despite his son shining with both bat and ball, Chauhan Senior did not go to Rajkot to watch his son in action and he had a genuine reason for it. "My presence would have put added pressure on him, that's why I decided to stay back in Gwalior. I kept a tab on the proceedings through a cricket website," signed off the father.
Chauhan is vice-captain of the team for the Youth ODIs but he will lead the side in the two multi-day matches. The third and final 50-over game will be played in Rajkot on September 23. The first multi-day match will begin at the same venue on September 30 while the second contest will start in Ahmedabad on October 8.
Brief scores: India U19 341/7 in 50 ovs (VK Vineeth 87, Yashbardhan Chauhan 122; Thomas Vaseo 3/78) bt Australia U19 238 in 41.1 ovs (Jack Czosnek 81; Chigurupati Venkata 3/64).
