Before the start of the U-19 World Cup, SA20 franchise Pretoria Capitals posted a heartfelt video, where Arshin Kulkarni seeks permission from his childhood hero Jacques Kallis’ before touching his feet. In the video Kulkarni can be seen narrating a story about how he got a six-foot poster of a South African great on his eighth birthday and why he looks up to him.
Arshin, who opens the innings and bowl seam-up, has everyone excited in Indian cricket. It was his six-hitting prowess in the inaugural Maharashtra Premier League, which caught everyone’s attention and the 18-year-old was picked by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for Rs 20 lakh in the IPL auction. He played only in three games but hit six more sixes (19) than any other batter in a tournament where the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kedar Jadhav and Rahul Tripathi participated.
The all-rounder was picked for Maharashtra and he didn’t disappoint. He scored at the rate of 163.51 and picked up four wickets in six matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali. He carried his all-round form to the U-19 Asia Cup but in the World Cup, he was yet to fire.
Arshin, who failed in the first two games, scored 108 against USA and during his stay showed why the hype around him is real. The start by Kulkarni was scrappy. He was chewing up balls, was not able to rotate the strike and even his running between the wicket was bad. He got an life when he was batting on 17 after Prannav Chettipalayam dropped a catch off Ateendra Subramanian’s bowling. After the reprieve, he showed intent those three sixes he hit was a delight. Each one of them were against the seamers, where he nonchalantly shimmied down the track and whipped it over deep mid-wicket boundary for the maximum. The dashing opener hit eight boundaries and three sixes in his knock.
“It was a special moment for me, my parents were there in the stands. A really big moment to score a hundred in front of them,” Kulkarni told the broadcasters after the match. “The ball tends to move in the air and off the surface earlier in the morning, hence it becomes difficult for the openers. Things get easier as the day goes on.”
The 155-run stand for the second wicket with Musheer Khan (73), who carried forward his form from the last match, put India in a commanding position. The cameos from skipper Uday Saharan (35), Priyanshu Moliya (27 not out) and Sachin Dhas (20) helped India post 326 for 5.
Naman makes early inroads
Naman Tiwari struggled with his line and length in the first match against the Bangaldesh but the left-arm seamer has found his wicket-taking ability as he has bagged two four-wicket hauls in as many matches.
Tiwari’s burst left USA reeling at 55 for 4 and from there onwards, they never looked into the game. The top order of the USA looked clueless against Tiwari and in the opening spell, it looked like the boy from Lucknow would end up taking at least six or seven wickets.
Utkarsh Srivastava (40) top scored for USA and in reply to India’s mammoth total, they could only muster 125 for 8. Tiwari (4/10) was the pick of the bowler. Saumy Pandey bowled miserly and gave away only 13 runs from his ten overs. Raj Limbani, Murugan Abhishek and Priyanshu Moliya also chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Brief Scores
India U-19: 326 for 5 in 50 overs (Arshin Kulkarni 108, Musheer Khan 73; Ateendra Subramanian 2/45)
USA U-19: 125 for 8 in 50 overs (Utkarsh Srivastava 40, Naman Tiwari 4/20)