Images from the Under-19 World Cup between India and New Zealand in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
Musheer Khan's superlative showing in the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup continued as his second hundred trampled New Zealand by 214 runs in a Super Six encounter at the Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, on Tuesday.
>After India's top performer Musheer's 131 backed by opener Adarsh Singh's 52 powered India to a huge total of 295/8, left-arm spinner Saumy Kumar Pandey (4/19) and pacer Raj Limbani (2/17) ripped apart New Zealand's top order to bowl them out for a mere 81 in 28.1 overs.
Limbani struck on the first and the fifth ball of New Zealand innings to ensure momentum remained India's way throughout.
India vice-captain Pandey finished with splendid figures of 10-2-19-4 as he knocked the stuffing out of Black Caps' chase.
Left reeling at 27/4 in the Powerplay, New Zealand could never really stage a comeback as Indian colts like every edition are once again looking favourites to win the tournament.
For New Zealand, it was their third heaviest defeat in terms of runs and also their third lowest total at the U-19 World Cup stage.
But it was a shaky start for the Indians, who lost the previous game's centurion Arshin Kulkarni (9) early on.
The dismissal, however, also brought the pair of Musheer and Adarsh together who carried out a fine recovery job with a 77-run stand.
Adarsh took charge of attacking the bowlers as he looked good while driving on the rise and also played the pull-shot with elan.
It was only unfortunate that he failed to keep a drive in check when Zac Cumming (1/37) teased him with one outside off.
A thick edge off Adarsh's bat flew to Oliver Tewatiya at point in the 18th over, which ended the charge for the left-handed Indian opener who made 52 off 58 balls with six fours.
There also was some disappointment in store for India captain Uday Saharan who failed to convert his start and was dismissed for 35. He had three fifties in a row before this game.
Saharan, nevertheless, did a fine job of consolidating the innings for his side, putting on 87 with Musheer which also happened to be the best stand for India in this game.
However, Musheer's century and Adarsh's contribution at the top notwithstanding, India lost wickets in a flurry towards the end to fall short of breaching the 300-run mark, finishing at 295 for eight.
For New Zealand, seamer Mason Clarke took four wickets but registered expensive figures of 4/64 in eight overs.
West Indies beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in Kimberley
Sri Lanka 231 (50 overs) vs West Indies 232/7 (49.3 overs)
Opting to bat first in Kimberley, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Nathan Edward, Player of the Match in the previous game, had opener Vishen Halambage dismissed for a golden duck in the opening over.
No.3 Sineth Jayawardena too fell soon after to Edward as the left-arm quick continued from where he left off against England in their final group match. Pulindu Perera and Supun Waduge started the rebuild, but couldn’t get far as Raneico Smith came into the attack and trapped Perera in front in his first over.
Dinura Kalupahana held his end up with some solid defensive strokes as Waduge tried to up the run-rate. The partnership, though, was broken just as it was gaining momentum when a deflection off Nathan Sealy’s fingertips hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Waduge short of the crease.
The unfortunate dismissal saw Sri Lanka slip to 85 for four with their key batter back in the hut. Kalupahana took on the responsibility of marshalling the innings, but he struggled to find partners as West Indies kept striking regularly.
Malsha Tharupathi stuck around at No.8 and the duo stitched together a half-century stand before Kalupahana, who made 53, cut Sealy straight to the fielder.
Tharupathi added useful lower-order runs with the tail before Smith cleaned him up. Sri Lanka finished on 231 in 50 overs, a total that appeared unlikely at the half-way mark. Smith was the pick of West Indian bowlers with figures of four for 47.
West Indies got off to a flier in the chase with skipper Stephan Pascal leading the charge. The opener raced to 33 with five fours and a six, after which Kalupahana had him caught at point.
Steve Wedderburn carried on positively, but West Indies lost Joshua Dorne to Vishwa Lahiru just after the Powerplay.
Jordan Johnson and Wedderburn, however, continued doing what West Indies have done well this tournament: transferring the pressure onto their opponents with quick runs. The 86-run partnership between the duo came at nearly run-a-ball as West Indies put themselves well ahead in the chase.
Sri Lanka struck back in the middle overs, first sending back Wedderburn and then Johnson next over to break the stand that was threatening to finish the game quickly. Vihas Thewmika’s off-spin accounted for Johnson, who made 39, but Mavendra Dindyal and Edward shaved off a few more runs from the target as West Indies edged closer.
Two quick wickets, that of Dindyal and Edward, gave Sri Lanka a bit of hope. It increased further when the dangerous Jewel Andrew was trapped in front by Kalupahana with the Windies still 26 runs from the target.
However, Sealy came to their rescue, yet again staying calm under pressure to get West Indies close. Despite a few nervy moments, Sealy remained unbeaten on 27 to steer his side home with three balls to spare.
Pakistan beat Ireland by three wickets in Potchefstroom
Ireland 181 (48.4 overs) vs Pakistan 182/7 (43.4 overs)
Pakistan’s pacers made merry at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom after skipper Saad Baig opted to bowl first against Ireland. Ubaid Shah, who leads the wickets chart in the tournament so far, had Jordan Neill caught and bowled in the sixth over after the Irish openers were watchful early on with the new ball.
Ali Raza came in as first-change bowler to send back Ryan Hunter after his 28-ball stay for 10 runs. Ahmad Hassan, though, broke the back of Ireland’s top-order with the wickets of Gavin Roulston and skipper Philippe le Roux in quick succession.
Amir Hassan returned for a second spell to snare the big wicket of Kian Hilton and Ireland were left on their haunches at 39 for five.
Scott MacBeth and John McNally put together a promising partnership to lift Irish hopes, but Baig threw the ball back to Ubaid to break the stand and he delivered. In the first ball of his second over on return, Ubaid had MacBeth caught out for 16 and Ireland lost their sixth wicket.
Harry Dyer hung around with McNally to resist a lower-order collapse and Ireland got to the three-figure mark in the 32nd over. The stand between the two was broken a few overs later when Dyer fell for a 41-ball 31, holing out from off-spinner Haroon Arshad.
McNally completed his half-century thereafter and Ireland pushed themselves close to the 200-run mark. Ali Raza had McNally bowled in the 45th over, which dented Ireland’s chances of a final push in the death overs.
Raza finished with economical figures of two for 18 in 10 overs while Ubaid Shah took three for 31 in his 10. Amir and Ahmad Hassan also shared two wickets apiece as Pakistan’s bowling restricted Ireland to 181.
In reply, Ireland managed to do something few teams have managed against Pakistan this far this tournament: dismiss the openers cheaply. Reuben Wilson and Oliver Riley struck inside the first six overs to send back the dangerous duo of Shahzaib Khan and Shamyl Hussain.
With the middle-order left to do the heavy lifting for arguably the first time in the tournament, Pakistan struggled to adapt. Azan Awais and skipper Baig got starts but couldn’t go past the 20s. Promoted up the order, Ubaid too fell for a single-digit score as Ireland sensed a way into the contest with Pakistan at 96 for five.
However, Ahmed Hassan and Arshad eased the nerves by making 39 runs off the next six overs to push back the Irish bowlers. The duo stayed unbeaten till the score crossed 150, after which Arshad was bowled by Neill for 25.
Arafat Minhas was sent back by Dyer late in the game, but Pakistan were almost home by that point. Hassan completed his half-century as Pakistan registered a victory that, while not too convincing, helped them maintain vital momentum at a crucial stage in the tournament.
