Subas Humagain, Kathmandu
Vriitya Aravind despite being a teenager has already established himself as one to fear for the opposition. UAE’s wicket-keeper bats fearless in the top order and for Nepal, he has made an identity of a nemesis.
Vriitya has played a pivotal role in denying Nepal three World Cup spots, the most recent one coming last month in the World T20 Qualifiers in Oman. He was a mainstay in UAE’s batting order during the ICC World T20 Qualifiers. Vriitya dominated the tournament and was adjudged MVP of the tournament. His performance meant UAE returned to the global scene after qualifying for the World Cup.
Vriitya, before the tournament started was under pressure for not scoring many runs. He and the team believed that the hard work they put in would come good. ‘We had a good preparation for the past six months and worked hard for this goal. I just tried to back myself because I’ve been on the team for two years and of course, I haven’t had a big score yet. I was like, you know what? Let me try and get some scores for the team. After 1/2 scores you feel confident, and I think that’s what happened. I carried on after big knock against Ireland,’ he spoke about the qualifiers.
Vriitya started the tournament with a solid 97*(67) against tournament favorites Ireland. He then scored 40 (29) against Germany in the second match. Vriitya then scored 84* (52) against Bahrain. Stat-wise, UAE went on to lose the match by 2 runs. But at one stage, UAE were on the verge of crashing out of qualifiers. Thanks to Vriitya’s swashbuckling batting, UAE crawled into the semifinals by the tightest of margins.
Vriitya scored 37 runs in the last 9 balls he faced. He scored 24 runs in the last over alone to make sure UAE maintain the run rate to get over the line. The result meant UAE finished second behind Ireland in the group. This also meant they had to face Nepal in the semis, which acted as the decider for the World Cup spot.
Vriitya feels the game against Bahrain was one of the most important games for the UAE in the tournament. ‘Yeah, I think that was the most intense game I’ve ever played ’cause we know. So there was a situation where the team could have gone out of the Qualifiers also,’ he explained.
‘Honestly, it was one of the most important things in the tournaments. We needed twelve runs in the last over to qualify and we need 27 to win. So in that stage I was like forget winning, first, we need to qualify. And as soon as we call qualified, I hit two more sixes, and then we could try for winning. But then lost by two runs again,’ he added.
Vriitya despite his heroics was dejected on his way back to the pavilion. When his teammates were applauding his effort, Vriitya was sad about not getting over the line. When asked about what he thought about winning the match, Vriitya replied, ‘I think yeah. I had belief in myself. I had belief in the team. Because we bat pretty deep you know. and I think that’s what got us through the line. Even though we lost, we lost about two runs and from that stage, I don’t mind losing by two runs. Because we qualified. That’s the main goal for us.’
In the semis, UAE had a bad start. They lost Chirag Suri in the second over with just 6 runs on board. Vriitya continued with where he left off the previous day. Vriitya scored 18 runs off Jitendra Mukhiya in the fourth over. He then added a four and six each in the next two overs. Vriitya was bowled out in the eighth over by Nepal skipper Sandeep Lamichhane but the damage had been done. He scored 46 runs off 23 balls, setting the tone for the middle order.
Vriitya explained the tactics against Nepal clicked off as he wanted to score runs and not take much time settling in. ‘Innings against Nepal was very important because I had to set the tone. I’m the batsman in form. We lost an early wicket so I had to set the tone because I’m the one who’s been scoring runs right? So I didn’t want to get out cheaply, but at the same time we want to play too slowly and on that day it clicked. So it’s just a matter of a good day,’ Vriitya explained with a grin.
Ahmed Raza took a fifer in the second innings to grab the headlines and walk away with the Man of the Match award. But Vriitya did the early damage and took the game away from Nepal. In the final Vriitya couldn’t add any score to his tally, but the main target was achieved. UAE went on to defeat Ireland for the third time in two weeks and finish the tournament on a high.
For Vriitya, this was not the first time he deprived Nepal of a spot in the World Cup. Back in 2019, he along with the UAE U-19 team beat Nepal by just 1 run via the D/L method after rain played spoilsport. The result was Nepal’s only loss in the round-robin tournament which saw UAE qualify for the world cup undefeated. UAE were handed another chance to play U-19 World Cup after COVID-19 meant the qualifiers for the 2021 edition were canceled.
Vriitya still remembers the match against Nepal vividly. Nepal were on fire with a huge crowd at the Kinrara Oval. Vriitya feels the partnership he built with Ansh proved decisive on the day.
‘Yeah, I remember that game clearly, to be honest, that’s probably one of the best games I’ve played. I think we were chasing around 250 and we were 21-2 when I went in to bat and at that stage, we didn’t know if it is going to rain or not.’
‘They had all the fans, even in Malaysia it felt like we’re playing in Nepal. They had so many fans and they were screaming all the time. and then we had a boundary it was like pin-drop silence. So that pressure is also there. They’re very engaging and they fielded so well.’
‘So we just had to go spend time. And that’s what I spoke to Ansh as well. We had a good partnership. We spent a lot of time over there and that day I think Nepal was on fire. But of course, I think the partnership was crucial and the rain kind of played a role as well. In the end, we qualified.’
‘I think we needed 15 runs before the 2 balls for rain and Ansh got out the last ball and that’s what got into. But yeah, if that makes it feel better. We were up by 15 two balls before the rain. ‘
Vriitya rates Nepal as one of the strongest teams in associate cricket. ‘I think Nepal is always one of the strongest teams. You know whenever we play a tournament, we see which group is Nepal because they are one of the strongest associate teams. They work hard and I am sure their day will come,’ he added.
Vriitya’s family has been a constant companion of his rise in the game. They hardly miss out on opportunities of seeing him play. In Oman, his mother was in the spectator’s area throughout the tournament. His dad drove 6 hours overnight after not getting a holiday ahead of the final. Even though Vriitya didn’t score runs in the final, his dad was there shooting him receiving the MVP award in his mobile.
Vriitya feels his family support has been the backbone of his journey. ‘I think my family has been supporting me from day one. They supported me all the time. They take me to the ground and keep talking to me about the game. Especially my father and mom.’
‘I didn’t even know my father was here today. He drove 6 hours just to come and watch the final ’cause he couldn’t get a holiday yesterday. So as you can tell, they’re very supportive,’ Vriitya said after the final. He had his family and handful of supporters cheering him up from the stands throughout the tournament.
Vriitya credits the success of UAE lately to the cooperation between the seniors and juniors in the dressing room. ‘The team’s morale has been great. Everyone in the dressing room has been very good. The senior players supporting juniors have been exceptional, you know. Especially Ahmed, Zahoor, and Rohan have been incredible,’ he added.
Vriitya was part of Pune Devils in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. He feels the tournament has helped UAE cricket to build up the confidence to play on a bigger stage. ‘Of course, such tournaments have helped us. We get to play against players from a full member nation. That gives us confidence. You can see the performance here in this tournament too,’ he ended.
Vriitya scored his maiden century in One Day International on Saturday against Namibia. He was also nominated in ICC’s player of the month awards for February, which India’s Shreyas Iyer won. With UAE qualified for the World Cup, Vriitya has his eyes set on the global scene. The way he is playing, Nepal could be one of the many teams that will have Vriitya’s name in their list of a villain.
