SUPER SUNDAY 1/2 
This time, the choke's not on India. It was hard labour as cricket fans furiously switched TV channels all Sunday, but in the end the reward was sweet and memorable. On a historic day for Indian cricket, youth and experience served up a double delight, coming up trumps in two tense final encounters spread across continents, bringing lumps to the throats of frenzied Indian fans from India to Kuala Lumpur to Sydney .
In KL, Delhi batsman Virat Kohli's Indian team won the Under-19 World Cup , beating South Africa in a bitterly fought, rain-hit final by 12 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis formula. Just hours before the colts exploded in a burst of euphoric celebrations, the experienced hand of Sachin Tendulkar had guided India to a convincing six-wicket victory over the mighty Australians in Sydney. Tendulkar scored a majestic, unbeaten 117 as India successfully chased 240 for victory, his first ODI ton in Australia and his 42nd overall. Here too he was aided by youth, as Rohit Sharma contributed 66 in a 123-run fourth-wicket stand.
MS Dhoni's team now have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three tri-series finals, putting to shade all the snide off-field bluster from the likes of Matthew Hayden, and proving hollow Oz skipper Ricky Ponting's claim, in his TOI column, that the "third final won't b
e required".
The juniors didn't have Tendulkar's assured genius to bank upon, but as they have throughout the tournament, Kohli's boys backed themselves with gusto and raised their game in crucial situations to come up with a spirited win, India's second U-19 Cup triumph since Mohammad Kaif's team won in Sri Lanka in 2000.
It was a nervy affair from start to finish, and rain complicated the situation. Last time, the juniors had stumbled chasing 110 against Pakistan in the final, but this time they showed no such panic.
Magnificent Tendulkar seals victory
In 38 previous ODI innings in Australia, Sachin Tendulkar had never scored a hundred; in 11 previous one-day internationals against Australia in Sydney, India had never won. Both those jinxes were wiped out in a memorable evening at the SCG, as Tendulkar scripted a magnificent unbeaten 117 and shared a 123-run fourth-wicket stand with Rohit Sha
rma to take India to an emphatic six-wicket win and a 1-0 lead in the CB Series finals.
The match was a story of sizeable contributions by two openers - Matthew Hayden scored a brisk 82 - and two century partnerships for the fourth wicket - Andrew Symonds shared a 100-run stand with Hayden. Those efforts lifted Australia to a challenging 8 for 239, which, given the Australian bowling strength, might have been enough on another day. Today, though, they ran into an in-form Tendulkar.
From the outset, Tendulkar's approach suggested he was in the mood. In the first ten overs he only found the boundary once, through a savage lofted square-cut off Nathan Bracken, but the evidence that he was in top form came in other ways: the footwork was precise and decisive right from the start, and the judgment of length was impeccable. With Robin Uthappa, he gave India the perfect start, as both ran hard between the wickets, placed the ball into gaps, and put together 50 an excellent rate with scarcely a risk - there were just three fours in the stand.
The innings wobbled briefly thereafter, though, as Michael Hussey pulled off a magnificent catch at deep midwicket - it will surely rank among the catches of the season - to get rid of Uthappa. Two more wickets fell quickly, as Gautam Gambhir failed to respond to an obvious call for a second run, and Yuvraj Singh continued to flounder abysmally against Brad Hogg's spin.
At 3 for 87, the match was perfectly in the balance, before Tendulkar found the perfect ally in Rohit, and their stand turned out to be the match-defining one. With Rohit secure in defence and attack, it allowed Tendulkar to play normally too, and what followed was a treat. After the early threat of Brett Lee had been negated, Tendulkar turned his attention to the others: Hogg was driven over extra-cover for two glorious fours while Mitchell Johnson was perfectly tipped over slip. All along, he pierced the infield, took the singles, and ensured the asking rate never got beyond control. A cramp towards the end of the innings restricted certain strokes, wh
ile a beamer from Lee - who apologised immediately - crashed into his shoulder when he was on 98, but today he was not to be denied. The century finally came with the dab to gully, and the celebrations indicated how special it was.
At the other end, Rohit showed why he is held in such high regard by the experts. He began with two glorious straight-drives off Bracken, and then continued in such serene fashion that Australia scarcely had a sniff. He finally fell immediately after Tendulkar's hundred, but by then the result was only a formality.
This time, the choke's not on India. It was hard labour as cricket fans furiously switched TV channels all Sunday, but in the end the reward was sweet and memorable. On a historic day for Indian cricket, youth and experience served up a double delight, coming up trumps in two tense final encounters spread across continents, bringing lumps to the throats of frenzied Indian fans from India to Kuala Lumpur to Sydney .
In KL, Delhi batsman Virat Kohli's Indian team won the Under-19 World Cup , beating South Africa in a bitterly fought, rain-hit final by 12 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis formula. Just hours before the colts exploded in a burst of euphoric celebrations, the experienced hand of Sachin Tendulkar had guided India to a convincing six-wicket victory over the mighty Australians in Sydney. Tendulkar scored a majestic, unbeaten 117 as India successfully chased 240 for victory, his first ODI ton in Australia and his 42nd overall. Here too he was aided by youth, as Rohit Sharma contributed 66 in a 123-run fourth-wicket stand.
MS Dhoni's team now have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three tri-series finals, putting to shade all the snide off-field bluster from the likes of Matthew Hayden, and proving hollow Oz skipper Ricky Ponting's claim, in his TOI column, that the "third final won't b
e required".The juniors didn't have Tendulkar's assured genius to bank upon, but as they have throughout the tournament, Kohli's boys backed themselves with gusto and raised their game in crucial situations to come up with a spirited win, India's second U-19 Cup triumph since Mohammad Kaif's team won in Sri Lanka in 2000.
It was a nervy affair from start to finish, and rain complicated the situation. Last time, the juniors had stumbled chasing 110 against Pakistan in the final, but this time they showed no such panic.
Magnificent Tendulkar seals victory
In 38 previous ODI innings in Australia, Sachin Tendulkar had never scored a hundred; in 11 previous one-day internationals against Australia in Sydney, India had never won. Both those jinxes were wiped out in a memorable evening at the SCG, as Tendulkar scripted a magnificent unbeaten 117 and shared a 123-run fourth-wicket stand with Rohit Sha
rma to take India to an emphatic six-wicket win and a 1-0 lead in the CB Series finals.The match was a story of sizeable contributions by two openers - Matthew Hayden scored a brisk 82 - and two century partnerships for the fourth wicket - Andrew Symonds shared a 100-run stand with Hayden. Those efforts lifted Australia to a challenging 8 for 239, which, given the Australian bowling strength, might have been enough on another day. Today, though, they ran into an in-form Tendulkar.
From the outset, Tendulkar's approach suggested he was in the mood. In the first ten overs he only found the boundary once, through a savage lofted square-cut off Nathan Bracken, but the evidence that he was in top form came in other ways: the footwork was precise and decisive right from the start, and the judgment of length was impeccable. With Robin Uthappa, he gave India the perfect start, as both ran hard between the wickets, placed the ball into gaps, and put together 50 an excellent rate with scarcely a risk - there were just three fours in the stand.
The innings wobbled briefly thereafter, though, as Michael Hussey pulled off a magnificent catch at deep midwicket - it will surely rank among the catches of the season - to get rid of Uthappa. Two more wickets fell quickly, as Gautam Gambhir failed to respond to an obvious call for a second run, and Yuvraj Singh continued to flounder abysmally against Brad Hogg's spin.
At 3 for 87, the match was perfectly in the balance, before Tendulkar found the perfect ally in Rohit, and their stand turned out to be the match-defining one. With Rohit secure in defence and attack, it allowed Tendulkar to play normally too, and what followed was a treat. After the early threat of Brett Lee had been negated, Tendulkar turned his attention to the others: Hogg was driven over extra-cover for two glorious fours while Mitchell Johnson was perfectly tipped over slip. All along, he pierced the infield, took the singles, and ensured the asking rate never got beyond control. A cramp towards the end of the innings restricted certain strokes, wh
ile a beamer from Lee - who apologised immediately - crashed into his shoulder when he was on 98, but today he was not to be denied. The century finally came with the dab to gully, and the celebrations indicated how special it was.At the other end, Rohit showed why he is held in such high regard by the experts. He began with two glorious straight-drives off Bracken, and then continued in such serene fashion that Australia scarcely had a sniff. He finally fell immediately after Tendulkar's hundred, but by then the result was only a formality.
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