2 weeks Ago
PACK A PUNCH: An emotional Harvansh Singh celebrates his century. (PTI Photo) CHENNAI: In 2017, when Damandeep Singh decided to move to Canada to join his family, he gave his son Harvansh Singh a choice - relocate with him and build a career in Canadian cricket or stay back in India to chase his dream. Without hesitation, Harvansh chose to remain in India, driven by passion to represent the country at the highest level.
Today, that bold decision seems rewarded a s Harvansh, representing the Indian U-19 side, scored a remarkable century (117, 143b; 7x4, 6x6) in the second Youth Test against Australia U-19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. His century powered India's innings to a strong 492 before Australia skipper Oliver Peake (62 batting, 113b; 8x4, 1x6) showed his skills to revive his team after an early jolt and finish the day at 142-3. Upon reaching the milestone, Harvansh couldn't hold back his excitement.
He let out a huge roar, turned to his father in the stands and offered him a bow - a gesture to the sacrifices they had made together. Then the 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Gandhidham went on to do a thigh-five. Damandeep, a truck driver in Canada, was beaming with joy and was holding the Indian flag throughout.
Speaking to TOI, he said: "It's our family's dream to play for the country, unfortunately, we (my brothers and I) couldn't do it. So, we are proud of him (Harvansh). Our neighbours, relatives, all of them tell him that 'you are fulfilling our dreams'.
Even his younger sister is learning cricket; she is also a wicketkeeper." Harvansh walked onto the field on Tuesday with an overnight score of seven alongside captain Soham Patwardhan (61, 124b; 6x4). While the skipper fell to an inswinger from Oliver Patterson in the third over of the day, Harvansh adopted a bold template and adeptly tackled both spinners and pacers, using a variety of shots to keep the visitors at bay.
He was toying with the Australian bowlers, by smartly cutting, pulling and driving the ball with much élan. A huge fan of Yuvraj Singh , Harvansh hit six sixes, most of them over the mid-wicket and long-on region, reminiscent of his idol. Harvansh kept losing partners at the other end but quietly went about his business.
He later shared a 90-run partnership with Anmoljeet Singh for the last wicket, before Riley Kingsell dismissed him. Around 15 minutes after lunch, Christian Howe, at the cover region, pocketed a safe catch as Harvansh's knock and India's dominant first-innings ended. Brief scores: India U-19 492 in 133.
3 overs (Nitya J Pandya 94, KP Karthikeya 71, Soham Patwardhan 61, Nikhil Kumar 61, Harvansh Singh 117). Australia U-19 142-3 in 44 overs (Oliver Peake 62*, Alexander Lee Young 45*).
