India's emerging talents are set to adopt a more proactive batting approach as they face Ireland in their second group match of the ICC U-19 World Cup on Thursday. Despite comfortably defeating Bangladesh in their opening encounter, the Ireland game offers India an opportunity to showcase a different style of play before taking on tougher opposition in the upcoming Super Six phase.
Ireland enter the match following a loss to Bangladesh after triumphing over minnows USA in the opening game. Instead of solely focusing on the opposition, India aim to elevate their own performance and align with a modern approach to the 50-over game, contrasting with the playing style of the early 1990s.
Skipper Uday Saharan and top scorer Adarsh Singh, with strike-rates of 79 and 68 respectively in the first game, seek to improve their performances in the contemporary cricket landscape. India's left-arm spinners Saumy Kumar Pandey and Musheer Khan's impressive contributions in the first match alleviate concerns for coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar.
However, there's a concern about Saumy's shoulder problem that prompted a temporary break during the first game.
On a slower Bloemfontein track, Indian batters must enhance strike rotation and find more gaps during Powerplay overs.
With talent scouts closely monitoring the team, players like Saharan, Adarsh and Priyanshu Moliya aim to make an impact, especially with the mega IPL auctions looming next year. Priyanshu, the only player with two Ranji Trophy centuries for Baroda, will be under scrutiny for his defensive mindset in the initial game.
In contrast, Ireland's new ball bowlers—Oliver Riley, Reuben Wilson and Carson McCullough—pose a challenge, and players like Arshin Kulkarni and Musheer Khan aim for significant contributions, with the latter being the younger sibling of Sarfaraz Khan.
(With PTI inputs)
