India U19 cruised into the semifinals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup with a thumping 197-run win over Namibia Under-19s in the quarterfinal clash at Fatullah on Saturday. Propelled by Rishabh Pant’s century, India set Namibia a massive 350-run target. The spinners then bowled them out for 152. Mayank Dagar and Anmolpreet Singh claimed three wickets each, while Washington Sundar picked two, to bowl India to victory.
Earlier, after India elected to bat, Pant anchored the Indian innings with a fiery 96-ball 111-run knock and was ably supported by the rest of the line-up in setting the opposition a formidable total. After the opener laid the foundation with a 103-run third wicket partnership with Anmol (41), at a good clip of over six runs an over, he was involved in a 62-run stand with Sarfaraz Khan before returning to the pavilion.
Khan, who has been in prolific form then kept the momentum going with Armaan Jaffer. The pair added 98 runs for the fourth wicket until Fritz Coetzee ended the flourishing partnership. The hard-hitting batsman was sent back for 76 off as many balls with the team on 281. Jaffer, who was milking the bowlers from the other end, then returned with 14 balls left in the innings after taking the team past the 300-run mark. Jaffer had plundered 64 off 55 balls before he was sent back by the left-arm pacer. Mahipal Lormor then took the team to 349 and was unbeaten on 41 at the end of the Indian innings with Dagar.
Although Namibia got off to a flying start with a 59-run opening stand, the line-up caved in to India’s spinners in 39 overs. While pacer Rahul Batham accounted for opener Niko Davin, Sundar bowled SJ Loftie-Eaton 21 runs later. Wickets then fell like a pack of cards as the spinners ran through the Namibia line-up.
Dagar and Anmol too joined the party to push the opposition into a corner. The spinners left the team tottering at 145 for nine while Khaleel Ahmed claimed the last wicket to claim victory.
Brief scores: India U-19 349/6 in 50 overs (R Pant 111, S Khan 76, A Jaffer 64, F Coetzee 3/78) beat Namibia U-19 152/10 in 39 overs (N Davin 33, M Dagar 3/25, A Singh 3/27, MSW Sundar 2/27) by 197 runs.
Man of the Match: Rishabh Pant
