(X-Cricbuzz) “Imagine abhi baaki hain,” says Biju Nair. The former services coach watched Aaron George up close and saw another important chapter being written on a sun-drenched afternoon in Harare on Wednesday. India chased down 311 in the U-19 World Cup semi-final on the back of double hundreds from Afghanistan’s Faisal Shinozada and Uzairullah Niazal. By the time Aaron returned with 115 off 104 balls, India were in their 10th U19 World Cup final. Now they await England in a showdown at the highest level. It was the highest run chase in an exhibition event, completed in nearly nine overs.
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“He should have finished the game today,” Biju tells TOI. “Very calm head on his shoulders. Anchored the innings with respectability.” Around him, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre played their IPL-style cameos, but it was Aaron who gave the chase its backbone. Sooryavanshi hit a 33-ball 68 while Indian skipper Ayush Mhatre, who came in at No.3, scored a stylish 59-ball 62. Together, they helped India ace a tricky chase. “Aaron can play all kinds of innings,” says Biju. “He can match Vaibhav’s blitz or conjure up a back-to-the-wall rearguard in the final innings of a Test match.” It wasn’t easy. Aaron started but didn’t convert them. After sitting out the first two matches of this tournament with an elbow injury, he posted scores of 7, 23 and 16. “Ahead of this match, I made sure to keep his morale up,” he adds. Aaron’s answer was emphatic: a century of balance built on precision rather than strength. Back home in Hyderabad, one man could barely contain himself. “Did you see that straight six he hit?” asks Aaron’s father, Easo Varghese. “That was the goal of the match for me. His strike couldn’t have come at a better time.” Raised in Hyderabad with roots in Kerala – Easo hails from Mavelikara, mother Preeti from Kottayam – the foundations were laid early. Easo, a former police sub-inspector in Hyderabad, recalls seeing something strange when Aaron was four. “He took a plastic bat at my in-laws and played straight. No smacking. That’s when I recognized his talent.” In a thrilling World Cup semi-final, this straight bat told its own compelling story. As Biju reminds us, there’s a lot more to come from Aaron.
