Mumbai boy Abhigyan Kundu, 17, hammered an unbeaten 209 off just 125 balls (17×4, 9×6) to help India outclass Malaysia by 315 runs in the U-19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Tuesday, becoming the first Indian to score a double century in Youth ODIs. Kundu’s father Abhishek called it the “proudest moment for the family” while his childhood coach Chetan Jadhav said he’s not surprised at all by his ward’s double ton.
“This is the proudest moment for me and my family. I am extremely happy. We had been waiting for such a performance for a long time. In fact, till yesterday we were not sure if Abhigyan would play today because they [Indian team] are already in a good position. So, we felt they [team management] may try out different options, giving chances to some of the other players,” Kundu Sr told mid-day on Tuesday.
Abhigyan’s father Abhishek (left) and coach Chetan Jadhav
Kundu scored an unbeaten 32 off 17 balls against UAE in the opening game followed by a 32-ball 22 versus Pakistan.
“Against UAE previously, he was batting well before he was dismissed off a very good ball. He realised he could’ve done more and was keen to do well here. Abhigyan has been working very hard with his coach [Jadhav]. Fingers crossed. Hope to see more such knocks from him,” added dad Abhishek.
The India U-19 team lost openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (26-ball 50) and skipper Ayush Mhatre (14) by the fifth over with the scoreboard read 47-2 before No. 5 Kundu and No. 4 Vedant Trivedi (90) shared a 209-run stand as they went on to post a massive 408-7 in the allotted 50 overs. In reply, Malaysia were bowled out for just 93, thanks to pacer Deepesh Devendran’s 5-22.
Coach Jadhav, who has been guiding Abhigyan since he was five, said his ward had predicted this big score. “We spoke yesterday [Monday] and Abhigyan said, ‘sir, I will score a double hundred tomorrow’, and he did. He’s a very positive and fearless cricketer,” he said.