Aaryavir Sehwag announced himself on the continental stage in some style, smashing an unbeaten 70 off 52 balls as India Under-19 thrashed Nepal by 10 wickets in their ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup opener at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on Friday.
Chasing a modest 129, India reached the target without losing a wicket in just 19.1 overs, winning with 185 balls to spare. Sehwag, the 19-year-old son of former India opener Virender Sehwag, struck seven fours and four sixes, while captain Lakshya Raichandani anchored the other end with an unbeaten 53 off 63 balls, hitting seven boundaries of his own.
Sehwag brought up his maiden fifty in Youth ODI cricket in just 34 balls, and he did it in trademark Sehwag style. On the first ball of the 15th over, he walked down the pitch at medium-pacer Abhay Yadav and launched him straight over the bowler’s head and into the sight screen, moving from 45 to 51 and taking India to 89 without loss. He had been 33 off 28 balls at the end of the 13th over and 45 off 33 at the end of the 14th, before that one shot changed the tempo of the chase entirely.
It was only Sehwag’s fourth Youth ODI, after a strong Vinoo Mankad Trophy and a series against Australia Under-19, and it gave India the perfect start to their campaign, with two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals and the final scheduled for November 14 at the same ground.
India’s bowlers had set the win up long before the openers walked out. Raichandani won the toss and chose to bowl, and his attack never let the Nepal innings gather pace. Left-arm spinner Ishan Sood took three for 18 from 10 overs, four of them maidens, and was named Player of the Match, while off-spinner Arjun Rajput returned three for eight. Yashveer Goud picked up two for 25 and Manal Chauhan took two wickets as Nepal lost their last five wickets for just 13 runs and were bowled out for 128 in 42.3 overs.
Darsh Sonar top-scored for Nepal with 43 off 93 balls and Aashish Luhar made 29, but no other batter crossed 20 as the Indian spinners strangled the scoring. The unbroken 129-run opening stand then made the chase a formality, and Anvay Dravid, the son of Rahul Dravid, did not even have to face a ball.
The comprehensive win took India to the top of Group A with two points and a net run rate of 4.170. Their next Group A fixture is on Sunday, November 8, before the group stage closes against the UAE on November 10.
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