As one was still dealing with the hangover of India’s 292 and England’s 58, the morning after the under-19 World Cup semi-final threw up two more heartening stats. It is now learnt that the two Indian pacers—V Yomahesh and Abu Nacheem Ahmed—had clocked 139 and 137 kphs respectively under lights at the Premdasa Stadium yesterday.While the Indian juniors’ march to the final brings back memories of a similar show by the seniors at the 2003 World Cup, there is also a parallel between the contributions of the pacers then and now.Three years back it was the league game against Zimbabwe where Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra touched 140 kph and India’s fortune changed. Here, it’s all one-way traffic with Yomahesh and Nacheem flying out of the blocks and picking up 10 wickets each in five matches.Ask Indian coach Venkatesh Prasad about yesterday’s speed gun reading and he doesn’t seem surprised. ‘‘I knew they were in the 130 to 135 range but in the semis they lifted themselves. With those readings one also has to remember that one them (Nacheem) is just 17 and the other (Yomahesh) 18,’’ he says.Talking to Nacheem, whose 4/14 saw England dismissed for the lowest score in the tournament, one gathers that the World Cup ’03 comparison isn’t out of place.‘‘You remember that game in Durban where Ashish Nehra took six wickets against England? Don’t know why but, when I was marking my run-up, that image came to my mind. It was England, it was under lights and it was the World Cup. I thought why can’t I do the same,’’ he says.The taller Yomahesh, whose action and release got a nod of approval from television commentator and former West Indian quick Ian Bishop, was a shade quicker but managed two wickets less. ‘‘It’s all about bowling in tandem. We created pressure and they succumbed,’’ he says.The bowler himself said his quick spell was down to the loss to England in the warm-up game. ‘‘We really wanted to beat them and were quite motivated,’’ he says.Yomahesh’s father was so impressed by his son’s show that he took the Chennai-Colombo trip and he sits with computer analyst A Prasanna in the hotel lobby. Prasanna gives the introduction, ‘‘He is our Brett Lee’s father.’’For that Yomahesh needs to increase his pace by 11 to 12 kph but 138 kph at just 18 means he’s on the fast track.
