By Ishwar Nath Jha
New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS): Mohak Kumar of Delhi Capitals Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy smashed a quick-fire triple ton (331 runs off 125 balls) against Endurance Cricket Academy in the Dream Chazers Cup U-13 Cricket Tournament here, surprising the cricket fraternity in the capital recently.
An ardent fan of West Indian cricketer Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, and Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, Mohak who is barely 12-years old, is dreaming of playing for India as early as possible.
He admires left-handed batsmen more; this could be because he is always keen to watch Lara's cover drives, as well as Rishabh Pant hitting sixes over the cover.
"I like to play aggressively, but when the situation demands, I also rotate the strike as well," said Mohak in a chat with IANS.
Mohak's immediate priority is to get selected for the Delhi U-14 team. He is preparing for the trials scheduled to be held in December.
Mohak who came in to bat at number four after his team lost both the openers with just five runs on the board, spent 137 minutes in the middle, smashing 28 fours and 30 sixes in his innings.
Mohak's personal coach Navneet Kumar Mishra, who started training him when he didn't even know how to hold the bat, praised him, saying Mohak is never happy scoring 40-50 runs.
"He has a habit of batting till the end of the match. If an aggressive player like him bats till the end of the innings, then it is natural that the scores will be very high," he said.
Mishra said that if he continues to play likes this, the day is not far when his name will be taken with great respect in the cricket world.
Mohak's father Manish Kumar is happy with his son's achievements. He said that he wants to see him as a big cricketer and will provide all facilities to him for this.
"Mohak plays like Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. Like Pant, he is a left-handed batsman and plays fearlessly. Although he remains very calm, he bats aggressively," he said. He would like to say thanks to Delhi Capitals Academy CEO for his support to Mohak.
Currently, Mohak is training with Delhi Capitals junior team coach Rajesh Nagar. Praising Mohak's ability to play big shots with ease, Nagar said that the special thing about Mohak is his 'timing'.
"Mohak's ability to pick the line and length of the ball is amazing. This is the reason he plays big shots freely. Mohak likes aggressive batting. If he keeps playing like this, then he can become a very good cricketer. He has all the qualities to become a star," he said.
Nagar said that Mohak is a complete package as he also bowls right-arm spin bowling.
"He is doing very well in the matches, scoring runs at ease, so I hope he will be selected in Delhi's U-14 team," Nagar said.
In the match against Endurance Cricket Academy, apart from Mohak, wicket-keeper Shivaai Malik (67) and Aryan Bhardwaj (40) made considerable contributions, which helped Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy post an imposing total of 576/7 in their 40 overs.
In reply, Medhansh from Endurance Cricket Academy played a brilliant innings, scoring 126 runs off 53 balls. However, he didn't receive much support from the other end and the entire team was bowled out for 153 in 17.1 overs.
Waman and Yatin Solanki were the pick of the bowlers for Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy with figures of 5/29 and 4/45, respectively.