The Indian U19 team has strengthened its dominance over Australia in the youth Test series. In the second unofficial match, held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India defeated Australia U19 by 10 wickets, taking the series 2-0.
The main hero of this victory was young spinner Tanmay Baloda, who single-handedly dismantled the Australian batsmen's attack by taking 14 wickets in the match.
India, having won the toss, chose to bat first. The Australian team conceded only 174 runs. Tanmay Baloda delivered an outstanding performance, claiming 6 wickets while conceding just 32 runs in 25 overs. The Australian batsmen faced serious difficulties trying to score against his bowling.
In response to 174 runs, the Indian batsmen pushed their total past 300. India scored 315 runs in the first innings, gaining a lead of 141 runs. Captain Yashvardhan Chauhan scored 52 runs, and Abhipray Biswas played brilliantly with 73 runs. Tanmay Baloda also contributed to the team's strength by adding 28 runs.
Facing a deficit of 141 runs, the Australian team needed a big partnership in the second innings, but Tanmay Baloda denied them this hope. The Australian team was bowled out for only 151 runs in the second innings.
Tanmay bowled 19.5 overs, conceding 41 runs and taking 8 wickets. Thus, in total, he took 14 wickets in the match: 6 in the first innings and 8 in the second. After Australia was dismissed for 151 runs, India needed only 11 runs to win. The Indian batsmen achieved this goal in just a few balls without losing any wicket, securing a 10-wicket victory.
Earlier, in the first Test match, India had also beaten Australia in Rajkot by an innings and 48 runs. The performance of the Indian U19 team in this tour was exceptionally impressive. Previously, the Indian team had beaten Australia 3-0 in a three-match ODI series. Now they have completed a clean sweep in the youth Test series with a score of 2-0.
Tanmay Baloda's story makes this result even more significant. He was included in the Indian U19 multi-day squad as a substitute. BCCI announced in September that he would replace Rohit Yadav. Given the chance, Tanmay delivered such a performance that he is now being talked about everywhere. By taking 14 wickets in one Test match against Australia, he showed magnificent bowling skill.
Tanmay Baloda, aged 18, hails from Rohtak in Haryana state. He was not given a chance in the first Test game. However, in the second match, he made a sensation with his performance, attracting widespread attention. This year, he debuted in classical cricket for Haryana in January. In his first match, he took 5 wickets against Assam, and in the second match—5 wickets against Bengal.