After he puts India in U-19 final, Jharkhand boy flaunts Dhoni’s looks, phone number

As he ran to the Indian dressing room after stepping out to hit Kiwi spinner George Walker over mid-wicket for the winning runs...

As he ran to the Indian dressing room after stepping out to hit Kiwi spinner George Walker over mid-wicket for the winning runs, Sourav Tiwary knew he had delivered — his unbeaten 29 had helped India reach the final of the Under-19 World Cup, squeaking past New Zealand by three wickets in a rain-shortened semi-final.

From Jharkhand with a hairstyle similar to the one Mahendra Singh Dhoni had when he first made the big splash, Tiwary said he had been told by Team India’s ODI skipper that “pressure mein khelna aur team ko jeeta ke wapas aana hi bade player ki nishani hai (playing under pressure and helping the side win is the sign of a great player).”

So when did Dhoni tell you this? Was it during the Ranji Trophy T20 game you played together? Looking somewhat hurt, Tiwary said: “Dhoni bhaisaab ka Australia ka number hai hamare paas (I have Dhoni’s phone number in Australia).”

Today at the Kinrara Oval, Tiwary showed he had a temperament similar to Dhoni’s, the spirit to fight when the chips are down. It was a tricky, truncated tie — Kiwi pacers were enjoying the conditions, there were some stunning catches and the Indian middle-order had collapsed. But India managed to scramble home, chasing a revised target of 191 from 43 overs after New Zealand made 205/8 in 50 overs.

Before Tiwary gave the finishing touches, opener Shreevats Goswami (51) and captain Virat Kohli (43) steadied the India innings after the side lost two quick wickets.

There were tense moments aplenty in the Indian dressing room. After the New Zealand innings, lightning struck and there were thunder showers. When play began, Taruwar Kohli, a consistent bat in this tournament, got out for 10. After another rain interruption, batting mainstay Tanmay Srivastava too didn’t last long. But the Kohli-Goswami partnership took the score from 40/2 to 124/3. That’s when Tiwary dropped anchor. Things weren’t looking too god. After Kohli’s exit, three wickets fell for just six runs.

“I knew I had to finish the job and I was confident because all our bowlers are actually all-rounders. That’s the reason I didn’t panic. I consciously avoided the big shots,” Tiwary said.

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The final is on Sunday but India will have to wait for the Pakistan-South Africa semi-final to know who they will be playing. In the last World Cup, Pakistan defeated India. Explains why Kohli said “we want Pakistan in the final.” And Tiwary remembered “Dhoni bhaisaab ne bola hai World Cup leke aana (Dhoni has said get the World Cup).”