Ricky Bhui says the hardest thing for him,over the last nine months,has been resisting the temptation to dig into a bowl of hot steamed rice. Bhui,whose unbeaten 94 helped India Under-19 beat the South African team on Wednesday,used to be considerably overweight for a 16-year-old,but having carefully monitored his diet,hes got himself in good shape.

My parents are very surprised with the self-control that I have shown. Being a Bengali,rice is my favourite. Its been difficult saying no all the time,but I guess its helping me, admits Bhui,a resident of Visakhapatnam who represents Andhra in domestic age-group cricket.

In January this year,Bhuis name was announced in the list of probables for Indias under-19 team. It was then that he decided to shed some kilos and add weight to his claim.

I absolutely wanted to play for the Indian under-19 team,and I did not want to be rejected on the basis of my weight, he says.

Bhui,who was 82kg at the start of the year,then embarked on a strict fitness regimen and when he turned out for India in the Youth ODIs in Sri Lanka,he cut a rather trim figure,having lost a whopping 14 kgs.

While losing weight may not have a direct correlation with runs scored,Bhui says it has helped him become more confident about himself. Its not as if I wasnt batting like this when I was hefty. But there is something that has changed,and yesterday,I showed exactly what all I could offer to the team, he says.

On Wednesday,the 16-year-old walked in with India tottering at 47 for three,in the chase of a 271. They were bowling really quick,but I was game for it. I didnt play flashy strokes. I just kept looking for singles,and when Sarfaraz Khan started batting with me,it got much easier, he says.