Rookie Tamil Nadu all-rounder, Baba Aparajith, on Friday heaped praise on victorious Under-19 skipper Unmukt Chand saying the Delhi colt has matured a lot, both as player and as leader, in the past few years.
“He [Unmukt] has improved a lot, both as a player and leader,” Aparajith told Cricketnext. “He has matured a lot, and that could be seen the way he led the side in the World Cup,” he added further.
Unmukt Chand, the 19-year-old top-order batsman hailing from Delhi, last Sunday became the third Indian to lead the side to Under-19 World Cup triumph, joining Mohammad Kaif (2000) and Virat Kohli (2008).
The right-hander played a scintillating knock of 111 not out, sharing crucial partnerships with Baba Aparajith (73 runs for second-wicket) and Smit Patel (130* for fifth wicket), to guide the Men in Blue to a title clinching six-wicket win over Australia, on Sunday.
Aparajith commended Chand’s appetite for playing match winning knocks, saying, “His hunger to play big innings is unparallel and he is also someone who wants to finish the match every time he goes out in the middle.”
Chand finished as the leading run getter for his country, with a tally of 246 runs from six matches, at an average of 49.20. The tally also included a century and a half century. Aparajith, on the other hand, piled up 171 runs, including a half century.
About his 73-run partnership with Chand, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder said that after losing Prashant Chopra quite early, they remained patient in order to stitch a meaningful partnership and provide the side with a solid platform for a successful run chase.
“It wasn't the greatest of starts so it was important that I stuck around and build a partnership. Unmukt and I just spoke about sticking to our guns and batting normally,” said the right-handed batsman, who contributed invaluable 33 runs from 38 balls.
However, he was not happy with the way he got out in the summit clash. “I shouldn't have played the shot that led to my downfall,” said Aparajith who was caught by Ashton Turner, at extra cover, off Gurinder Sandhu.
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