India U-19 feel two tons of pain

n By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Feb 13

ENGLAND Under-19 Captain Max Holden follows Alastair Cook and wants to bat like his Three Lions former captain. The left-hander dreams of playing for the senior team one day. On Monday at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium, the 19-year-old opener made a statement with his composed and beautifully crafted innings. Having a stance like Cook, Holden (135*), along with George Bartlett (132*) , added 254 runs for the second wicket as they took their side to a commanding 311 for one against India on the first day of their four-day ‘Test’.
The Cambridge-born left-handed Holden held his fort against a relatively mediocre Indian attack.
“We (England U-19) are a well-knit unit and are better prepared as compared to the Indians. If we bat well here we can win the match and series,” Holden had told this paper on the eve of the first ‘Test’. And the Middlesex batsman did the same leading from the front.
Holden batted for 394 minutes and hit 17 boundaries while Bartlett has hit 18 boundaries and two six in his 289 minutes stay at the centre as the duo laid foundation for a huge total.
Holden impressed with his fine batting which included some copybook cover drives while Bartlett, who had scored a fifty in the One-Dayers, used aggression mixed with patience to race to his well-deserved century.
Holden was first to complete century with a gentle tap towards mid-wicket. He ecstatically jumped in the air to celebrate his first century of the tour. The celebration was obvious as he had only 28 runs under his belt on this tour before this knock.
Despite losing opening partner Brook (21) in the morning, Holden continued his Monk-like approach to the game without taking any risk. He, along with Bartlett, demoralised Indian bowlers picking up easy runs and hitting occasional boundaries. There were no rash shots in his day-long innings, barring a nick in the afternoon which was dropped by wicketkeeper Suresh Lokeshwar when he was on 58.
Bartlett was a bit more severe on Indian bowlers compared to his skipper as he raced to his 50 from 96 deliveries. He took calculated risks and all his shots were in gaps as Indian fielders watched the red cherry race to the boundary.
Bartlett targeted spinner Sijomon Joseph and, at times, stepped out to hit a boundary over mid-on or covers. On occasions, he used his paddle sweep to frustrate the left-handed Indian spinner. As shadows lengthened, the Surrey-born Bartlett, too, completed his century with a single. His knock came from 167 balls and included 14 boundaries.
Indian bowlers failed to take early morning initiative. Left-arm seamer Kanishk Seth and right handed fast bowler Rishabh Bhagat did not get any help from the track which had a tinge of green on it. Indian captain Jonty Sidhu used as many as seven bowlers without much success. The only time they celebrated in the entire day was the wicket of opener Brook who nudged one to Lokeshwar in off Seth.
Brief scores: England U-19 1st inn: 311/1 (M Holden 135*, G Bartlett 132*; K Seth 1/50).