Out of Colt Storage

Going into the final day’s play,they had an outside chance of achieving much more,with Baba Indrajith still at the crease. Resuming their first innings on 308/6,Tamil Nadu required 227 more to gain the first innings lead. But eventually,despite Indrajith’s fighting 163 not out,they fell short. By only 87 runs though.

It was a victory that the Mumbai colts deserved,according to coach Satish Samant. And he insists on having told his boys to be as positive as they could at the start of play on Monday. The last few weeks have been quite forgettable for Mumbai cricket,starting with the under-22 team bowing out of the CK Nayudu tournament before the senior team’s Ranji Trophy campaign was brought to a rude conclusion by Tamil Nadu. And Samant believes his under-19 team’s performance will buoy the spirits in the city’s cricket circles immensely. “Mumbai has been a dominant force in Indian domestic cricket for a long time. Every team has to go through a rebuilding stage at some point. But I’m sure our juniors have really created enough positives for the future of Mumbai cricket with their performances here,” says Samant.

And the number of vacancies opening up in the senior team as a result of injuries and other factors only acts as an added motivation for junior cricketers,he adds.

“Some 15-20 years ago,it was almost impossible to break into the Mumbai team. This is not to say that the competition for places isn’t as stiff as it used to be. But these boys are aware of the opportunities that are opening up. And performances of note at this level will certainly bring them to the senior selectors’ notice,” says Samant.

Along with showering Gomel with accolades for his stroke-filled 250 that set the game up for Mumbai,Samant also lauds the impetus provided by skipper Harmeet Singh’s and his contributions with the ball. Though the left-arm spinner had to toil for 46 overs,his three wickets came at crucial junctures. And when Tamil Nadu threatened a late resistance,it was Harmeet who brought it to an end by dismissing No.10 Nirmalkumar for 21.

“Harmeet has already been through such ups and downs in his young career. But having gone through so much so early has only helped him mature quicker than most. And his bowling has come a long way too. No other bowler apart from him in the tournament managed to take wickets in Jharkhand,” explains Samant.

Brief Scores: Mumbai U-19 535/8 decl. & 68/1 (Akhil Herwadkar 46 n.o.) bt Tamil Nadu U-19 448 all out (Baba Indrajith 163 n.o.,R Vishnu 72,Baba Aparajith 71; Harmeet Singh 3/143) by first innings lead.