5 min readUpdated: Feb 4, 2026 08:37 PM IST A crisply flicked four through mid-on from Aaron George’s bat that rang in his century, in the fine tradition of Hyderabad batsmen, sent ripples of joy from the Harare dugout to his Hyderabad home, and spilled onto his ancestral house in Kottayam. The celebrations were stunningly measured, not of an over-zealous teenager but of a calm and measured youth, neither lost to overconfidence nor overthinking. His 104-ball 115 was the cornerstone of India’s successful 311-run chase against Afghanistan at the U19 World Cup semifinal in Harare on Wednesday. Until the moment, his tournament was one of ruing and regret. An elbow injury robbed him of two games, thereafter his outings were a blur of gorgeous strokes and frustrating ends. Often, a rare indiscretion or an unplayable ball would consume his three-figure ambitions. But he remained unruffled, weathering the crisis with composed equanimity. “Right from a young age, I have been taught to take success and failure in my stride. To not get carried away by success …