ICC U-19 World Cup 2020: Battle of pace in the offing as India aim to outmuscle Pakistan at their own strength

Dig up a list of top wicket-takers at youth level (Under-19 record alone) in ODIs and we get an all-Asian list. Unsurprisingly, the first quick bowler in the list — coming in behind six spinners — is a Pakistani left-arm pace bowler, Zia-ul-Haq. That he hasn’t even debuted yet despite being 25 goes on to reinstate Pakistan’s depth in the fast bowling department. It’s one area that Pakistan have long held bragging rights over in international cricket. Unearthing teenage tearaways from the street has become a thing Pakistan cricket is identified with. They fast-track those fearsome quick bowlers who roam the streets and handle them with immense care. [caption id=“attachment_7997731” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] File image of India’s Kartik Tyagi. Image courtesy: Twitter/@cricketworldcup[/caption] Take the case of Mohammad Hasnain, the Pakistani quick who missed the Under-19 World Cup in 2018 owing to an injury. Having already represented the youth side and played the Pakistan Super League, Hasnain faced an injury right at a time when he could have showcased his abilities in front of a larger audience. Pakistan cricket, though, did not abandon him. Close to Rs 25 lakh was spent on his rehabilitation, medical bills and other expenditures and a year later he was flying with the senior team to the 2019 World Cup in England. That’s just what Pakistan do. They are a fast bowling nation where everything else takes a backseat. The Imrans, Wasims and Waqars reign over the Miandads, Anwars and Imzamams. India, on the other hand, have always been a batsman-friendly country. The kids in the nation have grown up hearing fabled stories of Sunil Gavaskar standing up to the tall West Indies quicks and Sachin Tendulkar taking on Shane Warne in the placid desert tracks of Sharjah. In India, fans rave over Sourav Ganguly’s off-side drive, Rahul Dravid’s defensive push, VVS Laxman’s expansive drive, Tendulkar’s leg glance and Virat Kohli’s flick. Here, cricket is just what it’s always been associated with — a batsman’s game. Nothing speaks about Indian cricket’s obsession with batting more than this: The greatest fast bowler India have had before the 21st century is remembered more for his breathtaking 175 in a World Cup game, an innings which nobody except those present in the stadium have ever watched because the broadcasters were on strike. When India and Pakistan have met sparks have flown. The stands of the Sharjah cricket stadium speak of Waqar Younis’ yorker to Navjot Singh Sidhu in 1990 and Aaqib Javed’s seven-wicket haul. The Supersport Park remembers Tendulkar’s onslaught of Shoaib Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup. Melbourne has witnessed Imran Khan with his tail up after breathing fire against India’s top-order. The Mohali crowd had hair-raising moments in 2011 as Wahab Riaz rushed through the Indian batsmen with panache. Mohammad Amir skittling India out for 158 at The Oval is still a source of nightmare for Indian fans. In short, India against Pakistan has always been a battle between India’s batsmen and Pakistan’s bowlers. However, as the Under-19 World Cup semi-final in South Africa between these sides beckon, there is a distinct difference in flavour to the battle. Pakistan’s pace attack has taken 28 wickets, the most by any team in this tournament, while India’s pacers have 19 which does not even put them in the top five. But sort the list based on bowling averages and there’s little to choose between the fast bowling numbers for India and Pakistan, who boast of the two standout pace attacks in the tournament. In 88.3 overs, the Pakistani youth pacers have 28 wickets at an average of 14 and an economy rate of 4.42. India’s pacers have 19 wickets — with spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Atharva Ankolekar helping them make up a well-rounded bowling attack — at an average of 14.63 (just 0.63 more than Pakistan’s pacers) and an economy rate of 3.87 (better than Pakistan’s pace attack).

  India have two left-arm quicks (Akash Singh and Sushant Mishra) in their ranks — as Pakistani as it can possibly get — with the one right arm pacer (Kartik Tyagi) in the starting XI bagging a hat-trick in the warm-up matches and producing a spectacular display of fast bowling in the Super League quarterfinals to take India through to the semi-finals. Tyagi, Akash and Mishra have carried forward India’s fast bowling revolution which began with the mind-blowing rise of Jasprit Bumrah and witnessed the exceptional showing of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ishan Porel and Shivam Mavi in the 2018 Youth World Cup. India’s dominant win Down Under in a Test series last year was the handiwork of their incredible Test pace attack. [caption id=“attachment_7997741” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] File image of Sushant Mishra. Image courtesy: Twitter/@cricketworldcup[/caption] India have well and truly risen as a fast bowling nation in the last two years and can now challenge the one area Pakistan have held bragging rights to over the years. As the teenage Pakistan batsmen gear up for the big semi-final, the Shubman Gill hundred in the last youth World Cup semi-final will not be remembered as much as Porel’s four-wicket haul that bundled them out for 69 resulting in a 203-run loss. In this tournament, Mohammad Wasim Jnr’s five for 19 against Scotland, Mohammad Amir Khan’s four for 30 against Bangladesh in the last group game and Abbas Afridi’s three-wicket hauls against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have been matched by Tyagi’s four for 24 and Akash’s three for 30 against Australia in a must-win game. Tyagi averages better than Pakistan’s Afridi, Amir Khan, Tahir Hussain and Wasim Jnr in the World Cup so far. He has consistently bowled in the 140kmph range and has shown incredible composure under pressure. Tyagi’s story has distinct shades of resemblance to the fables we have read of Pakistani pacers rising from the streets. Born into a family of farmers, Tyagi charted his own way to the core team of a rich sport with persistent backing from his father. A fine showing at different levels of youth cricket saw him catapult to the Uttar Pradesh side for the Ranji Trophy. And here in the World Cup, he is just doing what he has always loved doing — running in, bowling fast and taming batsmen. Mishra’s story is no different. His father gave up his job as a medical representative to help his son pursue a sport he held close to his heart. In 16 youth ODI games from the end of the last under-19 World Cup to now, Mishra has 31 wickets at an average of 17.83. Even as he has flown under the radar this tournament, he remains India’s second-highest wicket-taker after Bishnoi in this period.

  Akash, on the other hand, showcased his mettle in the all-important quarter-finals against the Aussies. At the receiving end of a physical contact from Aussie batter Sam Fanning, Akash kept his cool and dismissed the opener to finish with a three-wicket haul. In 13 matches since the last Youth World Cup, Akash has 16 wickets at an average of 23.5. This World Cup, that average has come down to 13.71, a sign of his temperament under pressure in a big tournament. India’s pace resources have telling numbers and pack quite a punch as a group as this World Cup has shown. Even as Pakistan’s evidently pace-dominant attack has done immensely well, they will be wary of an equally potent Indian quick bowling group. This semi-final, unlike those iconic India-Pakistan clashes of the past, will not be a battle between bat and ball. Instead, it’ll be a competition between two outrageously talented pace bowling teams, a factor that redefines the very historical essence of India-Pakistan matches.