Mumbai boy Atharva Ankolekar, son of a BEST bus conductor, did the star turn for India to help the team beat arch-rivals Pakistan in the Group A match of the Under-19 Asia Cup in Colombo on Saturday.
The 18-year-old left-arm spinner picked up three crucial wickets to break the back of Pakistan's 306-run chase as the Indians bundled them out for 245 to complete a 60-run victory. Pakistan were on track to overhaul India's 305/9 at 173/3 when Atharva struck three blows in successive overs, removing the set Haris Khan for 43 in the 31st over to break a solid 120-run stand. He came back to dismiss Irfan Khan and Abbas Afridi in his following two overs to ensure that the momentum swung dramatically towards India.
A student of Rizvi College, Atharva has been single-handedly raised by his mother Vaidehi after his father, Vinod, died in 2010 when the kid was all of nine. His mother is posted at the Marol bus depot.
