Kartik Tyagi

Potentially in line for a Test debut against India, Australian batsman Will Pucovski suffered a concussion after being struck on the helmet by pacer Kartik Tyagi during the warm-up game against India A on Tuesday and was ruled out of the second tour game starting December 11.Considered a sure-shot selection for the series-opener, beginning December 17 in Adelaide, with David Warner ruled out owing to an injury, Pucovski was batting on 23 when he was hit on the helmet by a delivery from Tyagi in the 13th over of Australia A&#39;s second innings.&quot;Will experienced mild concussion symptoms but was able to leave the field unassisted,&quot; team doctor John Orchard said in a statement posted by &#39;cricket.com.au&#39;.&quot;He was monitored in our medical room and was communicating freely with staff and teammates as well as family over the phone.&quot;Will will remain with the Australia A squad but will not play in the three-day tour match against India at the SCG,&quot; he added.Pucovski was hit on the front of his protective equipment and he fell to his knees, staying there for a few minutes before managing to walk off the field.The 22-year-old opener was immediately attended to by the medical team even as he dropped the bat and remained on his hands and knees for a few minutes on the pitch.The impact had put a question mark on his availability for the first Test but Cricket Australia confirmed that he was able to walk after being attended by team doctor John Orchard.Tipped to partner opener Joe Burns in the Day/Night first Test at Adelaide Oval, Pucovski has a history of facing concussion problems in his career.Chasing a 131-run target, Australia A reached 52 for one in 15 overs before the match ended in a draw on the third and final day of the warm-up game at Drummoyne Oval.&quot;He&#39;s up, around, communicating clearly,&quot; Australia A fast bowler Mark Steketee said after stumps.&quot;The doc&#39;s obviously going to keep an eye on him in over the next 24 hours. But he&#39;s in the changerooms and seems pretty well so far,&quot; he added.

Pucovski was batting on 23 when he was hit on the helmet by a delivery from Tyagi in the 13th over of Australia A's second innings

William Jan Pucovski

India A

Australia A

Pucovski ruled out of second warm-up game ahead of India series

One of the biggest plus-points of the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years has been the fact that a lot of Indian players have received a huge platform to showcase their skills. While domestic competitions such as Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy etc. are incredibly important in the development of a young cricketer, the IPL has often taken the game of a few players to the next level.Sharing dressing rooms, training with and competing against some of the best is what enables them to improve their white-ball game. Usually, they also get to experience the pressure of playing under huge crowds, but unfortunately, that wasn&rsquo;t possible this season. Despite that, there were many cricketers who got their first taste of IPL action this season and some of them showed great promise. Here are five such cricketers.NOTE: Players considered here made their IPL debuts in 2020. Some might have been part of a franchise&rsquo;s squad previously but never featured in the playing XI. Also, this list is in no particular order.DEVDUTT PADIKKALDevdutt Padikkal was one of the outstanding batsmen in Indian domestic cricket during the 2019/20 season, top-scoring in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. On the back of that, he was given a chance this season after having warmed the bench for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last year.Padikkal made full use of the opportunity presented to him as he began the season with an impressive half-century against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He would go on to notch up two more fifties in his next three innings as he established himself in the RCB side. In a team that possessed batting heavyweights such as Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Aaron Finch, the 20-year-old ended the season as the franchise&rsquo;s top run-scorer which is an incredible achievement by itself.Padikkal managed 473 runs at an average of 31.5 and a strike rate of 124.8 in IPL 2020. In fact, no batsman after the inaugural edition in 2008 has managed more runs in a debut IPL season. Scoring rate is something he&rsquo;d want to improve on, but if his numbers across all T20 cricket are anything to go by, that shouldn&rsquo;t be a worry in the long-term.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F602c7ce03b78e10bf90c4b3b7ff0a2370f0fca2d.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">RUTURAJ GAIKWADIf Ruturaj Gaikwad had played the entire season, he might have found himself a place in the above graphic as well. In total, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman scored 204 runs in six innings at an average of 51 and a strike rate of 120.7. If you look at his season more closely, you will notice a distinction between the first half and the second.Gaikwad didn&rsquo;t have much time to prepare for the season as he tested positive for COVID-19 in the lead-up to the tournament. When he came into the side, he was played in the middle-order and was dismissed for scores of 0 and 5 after which he was dropped for a while. He then returned when CSK were on the verge of elimination but looked all at sea against Mumbai Indians pacer Trent Boult and was dismissed for another duck.After the aforementioned failures, there was pressure on Gaikwad and he showed tremendous character to bounce back. In his last three innings, he showed why he&rsquo;s so highly-rated in Indian domestic circles as he notched up three successive fifties. More so, all three knocks helped CSK to end the tournament on a high. In a disappointing season, Gaikwad was one of the positives for an ageing Super Kings outfit.RAVI BISHNOIRavi Bishnoi was one of the stars of India&rsquo;s run to the final at the U-19 World Cup earlier in the year, bamboozling batsmen as he finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker. As you&rsquo;d expect, after those performances, there was a lot of expectations from the 20-year-old ahead of this season&rsquo;s IPL.Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) had a multitude of spinners in their ranks &ndash; namely Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jagadeesha Suchith and Harpreet Brar &ndash; yet it was the least experienced of the lot, Bishnoi, who played every game. While Bishnoi didn&rsquo;t have an outstanding season, the fact that KXIP played him in every game shows how highly he is thought of.One interesting aspect of his bowling was the regular use of the googly. Across the season, only Rashid Khan (184) bowled more googlies than Bishnoi (169). He had a bowling strike rate of 18.8 and an economy rate of 6.7 and, importantly, induced a false shot percentage of 33.1 using his wrong &lsquo;uns. There were enough indications that Bishnoi has a bright future ahead of him.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F2dd4020a1697b9f174ac09acfa63536ef09428f2.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">ABDUL SAMADLike Bishnoi, Abdul Samad does not have outstanding numbers to show for this season. In fact, 111 runs in eight innings and one wicket from seven overs seem underwhelming. But Samad definitely caught the eye with a couple of knocks, one of which came against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 2.With the Sunrisers facing an uphill task, Samad &ndash; alongside the experienced Kane Williamson &ndash; gave his team hope. His batting against Anrich Nortje was especially breathtaking as he took on the South Africa international bowler and hit him for a brilliant six over mid-wicket followed by two fours off three successive deliveries. You might also remember him going six-four-six against Jasprit Bumrah earlier in the tournament &ndash; that was some amazing hitting as well.While the 19-year-old couldn&rsquo;t take SRH home against DC in the end, his talent was there to be seen. He finished the season with a batting strike rate of 170.8 and had experienced cricketers heaping praise on him with Harbhajan Singh tweeting: &ldquo;Abdul Samad gonna be a special &amp; Big player in future.. played some brilliant shots today specially that pull shot against Nortje&rdquo;.&nbsp;KARTIK TYAGIAlongside Bishnoi, Kartik Tyagi was also one of the top bowlers at the 2020 U-19 World Cup. Again, his numbers weren&rsquo;t that great during the IPL either &ndash; nine wickets at a strike rate of 25.4 and an economy rate of 9.6 &ndash; but there were signs as far as a promising future was concerned.Apart from Jofra Archer, the Rajasthan Royals bowling on the whole was disappointing this season. This wouldn&rsquo;t have helped 20-year-old Tyagi, especially considering he was left to bowl some tough overs at the end of the innings.A couple of things he&rsquo;ll want to improve on are his Powerplay bowling and his overall line and length. During the first six overs of the innings, he conceded 10.8 runs per over which is far from ideal. On the other hand, a look at Tyagi&rsquo;s bowling pitch map across the entire innings below, you&rsquo;d notice that he was all over the place. With experience, he&rsquo;ll surely bowl more consistently which should consequently get him better results.<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fee52e217fc46797606d2e8d5991ebaec877d4591.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">NOTABLE MENTIONSPriyam Garg captained the Indian team at the U-19 World Cup and he had a middling IPL season with SRH. In total, he scored 133 runs in 10 innings at an average of 14.8 and a strike rate of 119.8 in IPL 2020. There was one magnificent knock amongst the lot &ndash; an unbeaten 51 from 26 deliveries against CSK when the team from Hyderabad found themselves in dire straits. Garg will be hopeful of building from this season and producing a better one next year.Kamlesh Nagarkoti is also a U-19 World Cup star, albeit he was part of the tournament two years earlier. Since that tournament in early 2018, his career has been halted due to injuries and he finally got an opportunity this IPL. KKR should be given a lot of credit for sticking around with the right-arm pacer despite him missing so much action. While he took only five wickets in nine innings this season, expect more from him once he has further game-time under his belt.(Image Courtesy - BCCI)

From Devdutt Padikkal to Ravi Bishnoi, a few players got their first taste of on-field IPL action this season and performed admirably 

Devdutt Babunu Padikkal

Ruturaj Dashrat Gaikwad

Ravi Bishnoi

Abdul Samad Farooq

Priyam K Garg

Kamlesh Lachham Nagarkoti

Indian Premier League, 2020

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Chennai Super Kings

Kings XI Punjab

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rajasthan Royals

Five Indian IPL 2020 debutants who impressed

The last time Rajasthan Royals had beaten Chennai Super Kings twice in the league stage was in 2008. Tonight, they required only 17.3 overs in the second innings to complete a double over them.&nbsp;It turned out to be all too easy in the end. CSK were in the game for only 10 overs of the second innings from the regulation 40 overs of play. In the 11th over of the run-chase, there were only 7 runs. However, defending only 126, the time was running out for CSK which brought their chances of victory <a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/197724/csk-vs-rr-match-37-indian-premier-league-2020/match-reel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">plummeting down to 27 percent according to Criclytics win predictor.</a> From then on, Jos Buttler, who was 28 not out from 23 balls flew and took the game away from CSK&rsquo;s reach.A royal bowling performance from RajasthanRR would feel they did a majority of the hardwork in the first innings itself. A common consensus regarding RR&rsquo;s bowling was no one was putting their hand up to support Jofra Archer. Tonight, everyone chipped in to restrict CSK to 126, the lowest first innings total this season.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2Fc22e9ff30cabf80236aabad1b6d38de04a861b15.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200"> Archer was on the money from the first ball itself troubling Sam Curran. He gave CSK the sucker punch in his next over dismissing the opposition&rsquo;s most prolific batsman, Faf du Plessis. The right-hander chased a widish delivery to hit Archer over point but found Buttler at short extra cover. Shane Watson was sent back in the next over by Kartik Tyagi.&nbsp;The departure of the top two batsmen translated into another slow start for CSK. Rest of the work was done by leg-spinners - Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia - who strangled the CSK batsmen while bowling in tandem.The duo conceded only 32 runs in eight overs between them without allowing the opposition to find a boundary. More importantly, both of them found themselves amongst wickets. Gopal dismissed Sam Curran in the ninth over and Tewatia responded by scalping Ambati Rayudu in the very next.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F38fc566955d534fc37d34ba11bc79c57b04b05b8.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">CSK sent Ravindra Jadeja to number six to tackle them with a right hand-left hand batting combination with MS Dhoni but it was not enough to break the shackles. CSK managed only 46 runs during the nine overs in the middle phase.&nbsp;RR kept the pressure on in the death overs as well. The fact that Jadeja was the top-scorer of the innings scoring 35 not out from 30 balls tells that there was no momentum throughout their innings.&nbsp;Another top-order collapsePrior to this game, RR had lost a wicket every 19.1 deliveries during the Powerplay. This was the worst balls-per-dismissal ratio in the season. Chasing a modest total, RR only needed to improve on that number. However, they suffered the same fate tonight losing three wickets in the Powerplay.&nbsp;The openers - Robin Uthappa and Ben Stokes - scored 26 runs in the first 17 balls before Deepak Chahar pulled his length back inducing an inside edge off Stokes&#39; bat, hitting the middle stump. Two balls later, Uthappa attempted an unnecessary ramp shot handing a catch to Dhoni behind the stumps.Sanju Samson couldn&rsquo;t recover from his humdrums either. Attempting a nudge off his hips, Samson found MS Dhoni taking a one-handed blinder behind him. From 26 for no loss, RR succumbed to 28 for three.&nbsp;Smith, Buttler take them homeThe situation demanded calm and in Steve Smith and Buttler, RR had a top-notch Test batsman alongside a T20 juggernaut. The two brought all their experience playing their roles to perfection.&nbsp;Smith struggled throughout his innings. At the end of the 11th over mark, he was batting on 8 from 20 balls but did not give his wicket away. While there was still no pressure of the run-rate which was marginally above 6.5, Buttler decided to go for the killer blows exemplifying the characteristics of a proper T20 knock.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F40b55e14451a1ff350558a7b5798a689242cbbe8.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">He nonchalantly lofted Shardul Thakur over mid-off for a maximum after collecting four off him, thus bringing the asking rate under 6 per over. In the 15th over, he carted Piyush Chawla for three boundaries which also brought up his second fifty of the season.&nbsp;Only 27 boundaries were scored tonight, the least in a match this year. Buttler alone accounted for one-third of them, sending the ball across the ropes nine times. He doubled the tally of CSK&rsquo;s top-scorer amassing 70 runs in the innings off only 48 balls. Smith, content playing the second fiddle, stayed unbeaten on 26 from 34 balls.&nbsp;Wrong call at the toss?Abu Dhabi is probably the only venue where the surging trend of bowling first can be followed. It has the highest percentage of successful chases in the tournament so far with the chasing side winning six out of the 13 games played. The last four games at the venue has seen the teams batting second on three occasions.&nbsp;RR spinners got a good amount of grip from the surface, there was little on offer for Jadeja and Chawla. Post game, MS Dhoni admitted that the pitch became better in the second innings.&nbsp;In the hindsight, playing in UAE came down to haunt them once again. After all, you don&rsquo;t expect the pitches to get better for batting second in Chennai.&nbsp;Points tableCSK are back at the bottom of the points table finding themselves on thin ice. RR live to die another day. They have moved up to the fifth spot boosting their chances of a Playoff qualification to 20 percent as per Criclytics.&nbsp;

Jos Buttler scored an unbeaten 70 helping RR to chase the target with ease

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Steven Peter Devereux Smith

Joseph Charles Buttler

Shreyas Gopal

Rahul Tewatia

Jofra Chioke Archer

Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja

Buttler, bowlers help Rajasthan to get off the last spot

It&rsquo;s 7 versus 8 in Match 37 of IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi. It has been a strange season for both Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in many ways with only three wins in nine games each. Criclytics gives them only 11 and 5 per cent chance respectively to make it to the Playoffs.&nbsp;However, the way cookie has crumbled this season, 14 points might be enough to fetch the fourth spot and both teams still have time to attain that magical number on the points table. The condition remains that they start stringing victories together without further delay and set the ball rolling with this fixture.Who replaces Bravo?Anything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for CSK in this campaign. Almost every chink in their armour that was concealed by two great seasons in 2018 and 2019 have been exposed this year. The unavailability of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have skewed their fortunes further. Now, they are facing the consequences of an ageing side.Against Delhi Capitals, Dwayne Bravo went off the field and according to their coach, Stephen Fleming, he is expected to stay on the sidelines for a few more games. This gives CSK an opportunity to play Imran Tahir and bolster the spin department with an outright match-winner.&nbsp;Although, MS Dhoni mentioned that when they plug one hole, other holes open up and Tahir&rsquo;s inclusion will fall under the same dilemma. It will leave them searching for pace bowling options for the death overs. Both Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur have been up and down. Hence, they would also want to play one amongst Josh Hazlewood or Lungi Ngidi.&nbsp;Positives with the batShane Watson&rsquo;s continued run of decent scores is a massive relief for CSK. After starting slow, Watson has fed CSK with crucial batting contributions at top of the order. In between, Ambati Rayudu has done well in adapting to the situation of the game. Down the order, there is Ravindra Jadeja who is enjoying his best IPL season with the bat. The left-hander has scored 159 runs at a strike-rate of 180.7 this year - the highest for him in a season to date.Moreover, his strike-rate during the death overs has been 212.5, the highest for CSK and the fourth-highest in the competition.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F912da67425b1454d9c4c31a865711c08322b7ed5.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">While MS Dhoni is still struggling for form, runs from this trio has reduced the pressure from Faf du Plessis. The last time these two teams met, in Match 4, it was only du Plessis who was amongst runs, hence allowing the RR bowlers to get a hold of them.&nbsp;Young Kartik pairing up with ArcherRR&rsquo;s bowling fortunes have suffered with no-one putting their hand up to support Jofra Archer. He has the best economy-rate and bowling average in the side by a distance.&nbsp;The young Kartik Tyagi, although, has extended his hand for support. His overall economy-rate might not make heads turn but the 19-year old surprisingly has been most economical during the death overs.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/image.cricket.com/temp%2F9ba6e1b55599f2f7234e74c2bcb50a6f6b1aef19.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" data-code="200">The mantra behind his success has been bowling full and straight with pace. Overall, he has landed 13 yorkers correctly - the fifth-most in the league to date despite playing lesser number of games than those above him. At the death, 48 percent of his deliveries have been yorkers or attempted yorkers.&nbsp;Him and Archer against the CSK batsmen at the death could be the most mouth-watering contest of the match.The uncertainty over RR&rsquo;s batting orderIn nine matches, RR have tried five opening pairs. In their last game, Jos Buttler swapped positions with Robin Uthappa and went down the order. Uthappa played a fluent knock but Buttler, arguably their best batsman, couldn&rsquo;t get himself going.&nbsp;The problem with RR is that all the major batsmen in their squad are top-order batsmen. None of them have been consistent enough to seal a spot in the top three. As a result, RR have tried everything to find a productive batting order but after nine games, they are still chopping and changing.What combination they bat with against CSK is a mystery. The absence of a finisher and Uthappa&rsquo;s success against RCB might persuade them to continue experimenting with Buttler in the middle-order. Or will we see Buttler open with Uthappa and Ben Stokes at four or five?Probable XIsChennai Super Kings:&nbsp;Kedar Jadhav&rsquo;s inclusion in the previous game was baffling but given he neither batted nor bowled, he might hold his place in the side. The quandary around the spot vacated &nbsp;by Bravo&rsquo;s injury will be resolved at the toss only. The rest of the side is expected to be the same.&nbsp;Sam Curran, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c &amp; wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir/Lungi Ngidi/Josh HazlewoodRajasthan Royals:Another underwhelming performance by Jaydev Unadkat has raised questions over his place again. Will RR swap him with Ankit Rajpoot or Varun Aaron to rush CSK with more pace?&nbsp;Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steve Smith (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat/Ankit Rajpoot/Varun Aaron

Both teams are in a similar situation looking for four wins out of their remaining five games

Mohammad Imran Tahir

Dwayne John Bravo

Shane Robert Watson

Ambati Thirupathi Rayudu

Francois du Plessis

RR, CSK meet with the campaign on the line

Shahbaz Ahmed, in his mind, had a questionnaire for Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers before getting started with what was to be his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) season.But the Bengal all-rounder will have to wait to don the Royal Challengers Bangalore red and gold as the possibility of having even a curtailed IPL is getting slimmer by the day with the rise of COVID-19 positive cases in India.Ditto for India U-19 stars Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kartik Tyagi, who were getting ready for days under heady limelight at the glitzy event, which was to start on Sunday but has been postponed till at least April 15.The story is no different for Tamil Nadu spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who probably waits from IPL to IPL to feel that spring in his strides.The wait gets longer by the day but they are hopeful that this too shall pass.&quot;It was a dream come true when RCB picked me from the auction. I couldn&#39;t have been more proud that I will share the dressing room with the Indian captain and ABD,&quot; Shahbaz, one of the finds of this year&#39;s Ranji Trophy told PTI on Monday (30th March).&quot;I would get to bowl to them in nets and ask for their tips. But we all know how the situation is. We need to tide over crisis,&quot; he said.So, how is he spending time and maintaining his fitness?&quot;Obviously, I am following all the instructions and I don&#39;t venture out,&quot; said the 25-year-old, who lives in Mewat, Haryana.&quot;I do drills to keep myself motivated as I can&#39;t do full physical training session at home. Once the lockdown ends, I would at least get a chance to run which is very important if not full nets.&quot;He doesn&#39;t want to entertain thoughts of an IPL cancellation in his debut season unless BCCI spells it out.&quot;Firstly, the situation should be normal. Secondly, I still hope there is a short IPL. If not, then hopefully I can keep up the good work and play for RCB next year.&quot;For the lanky UP fast bowler Tyagi, who impressed everyone with his pace, it has been an advantage that his house in Hapur has enough space to train as his father had prepared a pitch with proper nets so that his son doesn&#39;t have to worry about training.&quot;I can&#39;t think about the uncontrollables. My job is to train and be ready as and when action starts. I train four hours every day. Two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening,&quot; the 18-year-old said.&quot;Yes, I have pitch in my backyard so I am able to do single wicket bowling. Also I am doing a bit of physical training with the medicine ball. Currently, I am working on both my frontfoot and backfoot landing. Also, I am following the routines given by our trainer Anand Date,&quot; Tyagi revealed.So, did he have anything in mind as to what he would have asked stars like Steve Smith or Jos Buttler once they checked in at the Rajasthan Royals camp?&quot;Nothing as such. What I thought was when I am there with the best in the business, I need to see where I stand,&quot; he said confidently.For Tyagi&#39;s U-19 teammate and star of the South Africa World Cup campaign Yashasvi, there was excitement but right now he wants everyone who is suffering to recover as quickly as possible.<img src="https://images.cricket.com/articles/96ff5b5d093404100d328723a801f5a669c549ac.jpg" style="width: 900px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">&quot;I was very excited for my first IPL with Rajasthan Royals. And I was doing my preparations with my coach Jwala sir and also in RR camps. But let&#39;s be realistic as human beings,&quot; he said.&quot;Our first priority should be to keep ourselves healthy and safe and pray for everyone who has been suffering from the virus,&quot; Yashasvi added.For Chakravarthy, not exactly a Tamil Nadu regular in domestic cricket, his career hinges on IPL, which is the closest thing to stardom for him.Injuries and a not-so-great IPL debut pushed him back as he was preparing to show his mettle for Kolkata Knight Riders, which bought him for Rs 4 crore this year.&quot;It feels very sad that the world has come to a standstill. Hope, we all fight together and defeat the virus...on the other hand, yes I am worried about when will the IPL happen....because many things rest upon it for me,&quot; he confessed.

The story is no different for Tamil Nadu spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who probably waits from IPL to IPL to feel that spring in his strides

Shahbaz Ahmed

Yashasvi Bhupendra Kumar Jaiswal

With no IPL, rookies like Shahbaz, Kartik keeping themselves motivated with patience and training

After crossing the quarter-final hurdle, India U19 will be up against their arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super League Semi-Final at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Tuesday (February 4). Interestingly, both sides have been unbeaten in the tournament so far.&nbsp;While India outclassed sides like Sri Lanka, Japan and New Zealand in the group stage before knocking out Australia in the Quarter-Final, Pakistan have registered victories against Scotland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan while their contest against Bangladesh was washed out.&nbsp;The two teams have a rich history in the U19 World Cups. The neighbouring countries have faced off in nine editions with Pakistan winning five games to India&rsquo;s four. However, India have the upper hand in recent meetings with three victories to Pakistan&rsquo;s one in the last four encounters since 2010.&nbsp;The two sides last met in the semi-final of the previous edition of the tournament where India humbled Pakistan by 203 runs bowling them out for an embarrassing total of 69. Interestingly, Pakistan&rsquo;s current U19 skipper, Rohail Nazir, was part of that XI as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Elevated to the captaincy duties this time, Nazir would want to avenge the defeat but has his task cut out given the current form of the Indian colts.&nbsp;India have emerged as one of the top U19 sides in the last few editions of the World Cup. They have been undefeated since the 2018 World Cup where the Prithvi Shaw-led side cleanswept all their opponents and the current squad, led by Priyam Garg, is moving along the same lines.&nbsp;India&rsquo;s biggest strength has been their batting. The glaring gap between the batting average of India and other sides indicate Men in Blue&rsquo;s supremacy with the bat in the tournament.&nbsp;<iframe src="https://e.infogram.com/cc22455d-c35c-436f-9b10-0a3a1c06cbdc?src=embed" title="u19 batting averages" width="500" height="700" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none;" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>The openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Divyansh Saxena, have been in solid form. As a result, India have always been off to a good start with opening partnerships of 66, 42*, 115* and 35 so far. The only game where India lost their first wicket before 50 - in the quarter-final versus Australia - witnessed the lower order getting into the action to carry India to a competitive total.&nbsp;On the bowling front, the Indian boys once again come out to be second to none.&nbsp;<iframe src="https://e.infogram.com/3128d1ff-63b7-47ab-a763-0d90693d5ac3?src=embed" title="Copy: u19 bowling averages" width="500" height="700" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none;" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>Kartik Tyagi and Ravi Bishnoi, the spearheads of the pace and spin bowling department respectively, have taken 20 wickets between them, with both bowling at an average of under 10 runs per wicket. While Bishnoi picked four-wicket hauls against Japan and New Zealand, Tyagi broke the back of Australia&rsquo;s run chase in the quarter-final with figures of 4 for 24.&nbsp;Pakistan have four batsmen averaging over 50 in this tournament but will rely heavily on their middle-order duo of Qasim Akram and Mohammad Haris who have seemed to be their most solid batsmen.&nbsp;Both teams comprise of some terrific players who have led their side&rsquo;s run to the semis. Here are three from each side who hold the ability to play a decisive role in the semi-final clash:IndiaYashasvi JaiswalThe left-handed opening batsman came to the tournament with a great reputation, courtesy of being the only batsman in the tournament with a List-A double hundred to his name. Although, he has not played an innings of that magnitude yet in this competition, he has been crucial to India&rsquo;s campaign with scores of 62, 57*, 29* and 59 in the tournament. India&rsquo;s top-scorer in the championship with 207 runs at an average of 103.5, Jaiswal&rsquo;s 62 off 82 balls in the quarter-final was critical for India before the lower order took over and the Indian fans will expect a similar knock from him on Tuesday.&nbsp;Kartik TyagiTyagi arrived at the World Cup with the responsibility of leading India&rsquo;s pace attack and the right-arm seamer has not disappointed yet. The 19-year old has snapped up nine wickets at the rate of 9.8 runs and 17.5 balls per wicket beating the batsmen with both swing and pace. His opening over against Australia where he struck twice with the ball pushed the Aussies on the backfoot in the first over of the run chase. Overall, his figures read 8-0-24-4 helping India to advance to the semis and earn him the man-of-the-match. He will once again be key to India&rsquo;s prospects of playing their third U19 World Cup final in a row.&nbsp;Atharva AnkolekarA left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, Atharva Ankolekar has contributed with both bat and ball in India&rsquo;s campaign as defending champions. The 19-year-old picked 3 for 28 in India&rsquo;s win over New Zealand. Against Australia in the quarter-final, he got his first chance with the bat and responded with a vital 55* at number seven. He later bowled seven overs without any success but kept the pressure on the opponent batsmen with miserly economy of 3.1 runs per over. Ankolekar has been a consistent performer for India. His match-winning spell of 5 for 28 in the Asia Cup final last year while India were defending a below-par score of 106 is still fresh in memories of cricket fans.&nbsp;PakistanQasim AkramThe 17-year old right-hander has been one of the top all-rounders of the tournament. Alongside taking three wickets with his off-breaks at an impressive rate of 18.7 runs per wicket and an economy of 3.1 runs per over, Qasim has also held Pakistan&rsquo;s middle-order together batting at an average of 84. He has been dismissed only once in the tournament as yet - a run out against Zimbabwe - coming out to bat in three innings.&nbsp;In the quarter-final against Afghanistan, he carried the team safely to the target with an efficient knock of 25* after bowling a tenacious spell of 1 for 15 in eight overs.&nbsp;Mohammad HurairaAnother 17-year old, Mohammad Huraira led Pakistan&rsquo;s reply in the quarter-final against Afghanistan scoring a fluent 64 off 76 balls. His innings was ended by a mankad from Afghanistan spinner, Noor Ahmad but Huraira ensured people took notice of the mature head he carries on his shoulders in what was his debut for Pakistan at the U19 level. Nephew of the former Pakistan skipper, Shoaib Malik, Huraira is seen as another budding cricketer from Sialkot and it will be interesting to see how he tackles the spearhead of India&rsquo;s pace battery - Kartik Tyagi.&nbsp;Abbas AfridiA right-arm medium pacer, Abbas Afridi has been Pakistan&rsquo;s highest wicket-taker in the tournament with nine scalps. Though his economy has been on the higher side, he has been amongst wickets in every game for Pakistan - two wickets against Scotland, three against Zimbabwe, three against Bangladesh and one against Afghanistan.18 years old, Abbas already holds the priceless experience of playing first-class and List-A cricket which might come handy in a high pressure knockout game against the arch-rivals.

Kartik Tyagi

Debut

Player Bio

Kartik Tyagi in News

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