U-19 World Cup: Sarfraz, Sundar shine as India beat Ireland

Brief Scores: India U-19 268/9 in 50 overs (Sarfraz Khan 74(70), Washington Sundar 62(71), Rory Anders 3/35) to beat Ireland U-19 189 all-out in 49.1 overs (William McClintock 58(86), Lorcan Tucker 57(89), Rahul Batham 3/15) by 79 runs

After winning the toss, Ireland captain Jack Tector opted to field first on a wicket assisting the pacers. The Indian U-19 team coached by Rahul Dravid got off to a terrible start losing captain Ishan Kishan for a duck in the first over. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and Ricky Bhui formed a steady partnership of 46 runs before the team again collapsed losing three wickets for nine runs.

Struggling at 55/4 against the minnows, Sarfraz Khan and Washington Sundar stood up for the Indian team and guided them out of troubled waters with a 110-run stand. Sarfraz fell for 74 to Harry Tector’s off-spin in the 35th over and India looked to be heading for a below par score. Some lower order hitting from Zeeshan Ansari and Mahipal Lomror helped India past the 250 mark to finish at 268/9 in the allotted 50 overs.

Chasing 269, Ireland had a similar start to their innings as the Indians, losing captain Jack Tector for one run in the second over. Some good fielding and tight bowling from the young Indians in the first ten overs made the Irish struggle at 46/4. With India on the ascendancy, Lorcan Tucker and William McClintock started the rebuilding process with singles and twos and upped their run rate after the 35th over mark. However, leg spinner Zeeshan Ansari and left arm spinner Mahipal Lomror destroyed the Irish hopes by removing Tucker and McClintock in quick succession. Pacers Rahul Batham and Avesh Khan wrapped up the tail in a hurry to finish Ireland’s innings at 189, giving India a well deserved 79-run victory in their opening match.