India U-19 Posts 182 in Truncated T20 Against Australia
RAJKOT – A day that began under a curtain of rain ended with India’s next generation swinging hard under the lights, as the home side’s Under-19s thrashed their way to 182 for 6 in a hastily reduced T20 against Australia at the Niranjan Shah Stadium.
What was supposed to be a Youth ODI shrank, hour by damp hour, into a sprint.
A long wait, then a sudden dash
For most of the morning, the outfield belonged to the groundstaff. Steady showers, dark skies, and stubborn waterlogging near the 30-yard circle kept the umpires pacing and the players indoors. The toss, originally scheduled for 8:30 AM, slipped past multiple inspection windows. The cut-off loomed: 1:47 PM or nothing.
The rain finally blinked first.
By early afternoon, the announcement came: this would no longer be a 50-over contest. It was a T20 now. India would bat first. A series meant to test temperament over a full day suddenly turned into a high-voltage audition.
A familiar surname, a brisk start
When Aaryavir Sehwag took guard against Kasey Barton, the nostalgia wrote itself. Three dots to begin, then a punchy four to get going – and a reminder that this was a different Sehwag, but with a similarly uncomplicated approach.
India moved to 8 without loss in the first over, 20 in two, 25 in three. Sehwag cracked three boundaries in his first 14 balls, racing to 16 and setting the tempo. At the other end, captain Lakshya Raichandani joined in, collecting his first four as India reached 31 for 0 after four overs.
The start was measured, not manic. A platform, not yet a blaze.
Captain falls, Australia hits back
The PowerPlay belonged to India, but Australia refused to drift. Eli Brain (listed as Eli Brian in some updates) checked the momentum first. Raichandani, who had worked his way to 15 off 15 with two fours, miscued and fell, India losing its captain at 65 for 2 in the ninth over.
Soon after, Will Byrom tightened the screw. He first delivered a quiet eighth over, then struck twice in the 10th. Kushagra Ojha, who had promised to kick on with a run-a-ball 16, was caught to leave India wobbling at 74 for 3. The early sheen of 31 without loss had dulled; Australia’s seamers suddenly had a grip on the game.
The pressure mounted when Spencer Green trapped Arjun Rajput in front. Rajput’s brief cameo – 15 off 8 with a six and a four – ended just as it threatened to explode. At 89 for 4 after 12 overs, India’s innings stood at a crossroads.
Dravid and Chauhan change the game
The response came from two young batters who refused to let the innings drift: Anvay Dravid and Yashbardhan Chauhan.
Dravid started quietly, a single to get off the mark. Then he shifted gear. A four in the 13th over off Byrom signalled intent. By the 14th, he was swinging with conviction.
That over from Spencer Green changed the mood of the stadium. First ball: Chauhan launched him for six. Second: a single. Then Dravid joined the assault, sending his first six of the day sailing away. Chauhan finished the over with two crisp fours. Twenty-two runs, and suddenly India roared from 100 for 4 to 122 for 4. The innings, once stalled, now surged.
The pressure on Australia’s young attack was clear. Lines frayed, lengths wavered, and Dravid cashed in. He lifted another maximum off Eli Brian in the 15th, his clean hitting down the ground and over the leg side transforming a tricky position into a commanding one.
By the time Dravid’s cameo ended – bowled by Brain for 38 off just 18 balls, with three sixes and two fours – he had flipped the script. India was 159 for 5 in 18 overs, with the run rate sprinting.
Chauhan finishes the job
Chauhan, though, wasn’t done. He had watched the early wickets fall, then built his own tempo with a mix of power and placement. Boundaries flowed: a six off Green, then those two fours to close that pivotal 14th over, and more aggression as the innings entered its final stretch.
He reached a superb 54 off 34 balls, lacing five fours and two sixes, anchoring the late assault while still scoring at a blistering pace. Even his dismissal in the final over – falling after yet another attacking stroke – couldn’t stop India from finishing strongly.
Eight runs came off the last over. India closed on 182 for 6 from their 20 overs, a total that looked a distant prospect when they were 89 for 4 with the ball still nipping and the fielders chirping.
A day for the families, and for the future
Away from the scoreboard, this was a deeply personal day for some in the stands. Neel Patel’s father, Puneet, back in Gujarat where he once played for Gujarat College and ONGC before moving to Sydney, waited through the rain hoping to watch his son turn out for Australia on what he still calls “home ground”. Parents of several Australian players had also made the long trip, only to sit through hours of showers and uncertainty.
They finally got their game. And it came with noise, colour, and the sort of fearless strokeplay that defines modern youth cricket.
From Sehwag’s early boundaries to Dravid’s clean hitting and Chauhan’s authoritative half-century, India’s young batters embraced the T20 reset instead of sulking about the lost overs. Australia’s bowlers had their moments – Brain’s double strike, Byrom’s early control, Green’s wicket of Rajput – but they will know they let India wriggle free and then run away.
Now the chase will tell its own story. Can Australia’s U-19s match that late-innings audacity under lights in Rajkot, or will India’s young quicks turn 182 into an opening statement in this rain-hit series?
