Hyderabad-Malayali Aaron scores ton to steer India to U-19 World Cup final

Malayali batter Aaron George scored a century to steer India to the final of the ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup at Harare on Wednesday.
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Aaron's 104-ball 115 helped India chase down Afghanistan's 310/4 with seven wickets in hand and 53 balls to spare. The Hyderabad-Malayali anchored the innings, taking calculated risks. He hit two sixes and 15 boundaries, and was unlucky not to finish the job he began, falling just 11 runs shy of the target.

Aaron and the incredible Vaibhav Suryavanshi added 90 off 9.2 overs. The 14-year-old batting sensation, Suryavanshi, made 68 off 33. Aaron, who captains Hyderabad U-19s, has his roots in the Kottayam district.

Left-hander Suryavanshi was removed by Nooristani Omarzai, who taunted the teenager with a short delivery. Suryavanshi went big but did not get the connection and gave a simple catch at midwicket.

Suryavanshi had made a cautious start, scoring just a boundary in his first nine deliveries, which was unusual considering his explosive style. He got going with 15 off Wahidullah Zadran's over before being dropped on 22.

Aaron, who had a reprieve early on when he was dropped, held a 114-run stand with skipper Ayush Mhatre (62) and forged a 96-run partnership with Vihaan Malhotra (38 not out).

Earlier, centuries from Faisal Shinozada (110) and Uzairullah Niazai (101) gave Afghanistan a total of 310/4 in 50 overs. In the first semifinal, England defeated Australia by 27 runs. The final between India and England will be played at Harare on February 6, starting at 1 pm IST.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 310/4 in 50 overs (Shinozada 110, Niazai 101 not out, Osman Sadat 39, Kanishk Chouhan 2/55, Deepesh Devendran 2/64) lost to India 311/3 in 41.1 overs (Aaron George 115, Suryavanshi 68, Mhatre 62, Malhotra 38 not out, Omarzai 2/64)