Win or lose, no draws. That has been the philosophy in the Bazball era. England were "not stupid enough" to think they can chase down 608 in Edgbaston as per senior team's assistant coach Marcus Trescothick. It seems like the young guns don't follow are positive in approach but don't follow the all or nothing approach as Hamza Shaikh-led England Under-19 settled for a draw in Youth Test against Ayush Mhatre's India Under-19 side.
As former England captain Michael Vaughan's son registered a six-wicket haul to bowl out visitors for 248 in their second innings, England needed to chase down 350 to win the match. Archie could not do much with the bat and fell for a single-digit score to Deepesh Devendran. His opening partner Jaydn Denly fell cheaply too. RS Ambrish dismissed him for a 26-ball 19. A few overs later, former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff's son Rocky lost his wicket to Anmoljeet Singh. England were 62/3 in the 14th over, struggling in the run chase.
Shaikh's unlucky dismissal
The fourth-wicket partnership between skipper Shaikh and Ben Mayes gave them hope. But, after Mayes reached his half-century, Ambrish broke the partnership. He scored 51 runs from 82 balls. Shaikh continued to anchor the innings and completed his century. But a mix-up with his partner Thomas Rew led to him getting run out. The captain scored 112 runs from 140 balls. His knock was laced with 11 fours and a couple of sixes.
Tailenders salvage a draw after run outs
In the next over, Ekansh Singh was run out as well. Wicketkeeper-batter Rew reached his fifty. His stay at the crease was ended by Vihaan Malhotra. He scored 50 runs from just 35 deliveries, including eight fours. With seven wickets down, Ralphie Albert and Jack Home did not think about the win. They shared an unbeaten 12-run partnership from 67 balls to draw the match. Albert played 37 balls to score nine runs whereas Home scored seven runs from 36 balls. The hosts were 270/7, 80 runs short of the target when the match ended in a draw.
Run fest in Beckenham
Earlier in the game, Mhatre scored a century whereas Malhotra (67), Abhigyan Kundu (90), Rahul Kumar (85) and Ambrish (70) scored half-centuries. India posted 540 on the board. In reply, Shaikh (84), Flintoff (93), Ekansh (59) and Albert's (50) half-centuries helped the hosts score 439. India took a one-run lead. In the second innings, opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi (56), Malhotra (63) and Ambrish (53) scored half-centuries. India were bowled out for 248 in 57.4 overs, courtesy Archie's six-fer.
A total of 1,497 runs were scored in the game, the highest match aggregate in Youth Tests played between India Under-19 and England Under-19.
The second and final game of the tour will begin on July 20 in Chelmsford.