India beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in a Group B clash to maintain their all-win record at the ICC U-19 World Cup here yesterday.
Left-arm spinner Anukul Sudhakar Roy spearheaded the Indian bowling effort with figures of 4 for 20 as Zimbabwe were dismissed for 154 runs in 48.1 overs.
Openers Harvik Desai and Shubman Gill then produced unbeaten half-centuries to carry India to victory in just 21.4 overs.
The Indian boys have thus finished the opening round at the top of Group B with six points after winning all their three matches, while Zimbabwe are out of the tournament. They will face Bangladesh, who are second in Group C, in the quarter-finals.
In Group D, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets at the Cobham Oval in Whangarei, to finish top of the group with four points from three matches.
Electing to bat first, Zimbabwe ran into trouble right at the start when opener Gregory Dollar was bowled by Indian fast bowler Shivam Mavi in the third over.
The other Zimbabwe opener Wesley Madhevere was then involved in two partnerships with Dion Myers and Milton Shumba.
The trio did their best to keep the Indian bowlers at bay, but struggled to keep the run rate going.
Once the three of them had returned to pavilion, the batsmen in Zimbabwe’s middle and lower order were cleaned up by the Indian bowlers with four of them falling before reaching double figures.
Shumba was the highest scorer for Zimbabwe with 36 runs off 59 deliveries.
Apart from Roy, Arshdeep and Abhishek Sharma also bowled well, ending up with a couple of wickets each.
Desai and Gill then put on an unbeaten opening stand of 155 runs to power the Indians to an easy victory.
Gill scored a quickfire 90 off 59 balls which was studded with 13 boundaries and a six. Desai produced a steady 56 off 73 balls with eight boundaries and a six.
In another Group B match in Christchurch, Australia thrashed minnows Papua New Guinea (PNG) by 311 runs to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Australia finished second in the group with four points from three matches. They are slated to meet Group C toppers England in the last eight stage. PNG have lost all their three group matches and exit the tournament.
In Whangarei, opting to bowl first, Pakistan dismissed Sri Lanka for 188 runs in 48.2 overs.
Suleman Shafqat was the most successful bowler for Pakistan with figures of 3 for 29 while fellow fast bowler Shaheen Afridi bagged two wickets.
Sri Lanka ran into rough weather right from the start and were tottering at 72 for 5 in the 23rd over.
Jehan Daniel (53 runs off 70 balls) then added 76 runs along with Ashen Bandara as the duo tried to steady the boat. But once they departed in back to overs, Sri Lanka’s hopes of posting a respectable total went up in smoke.
In reply, Pakistan overhauled the target with 39 deliveries left.
Ali Zaryab struck a half-century to spearhead the Pakistan chase after pacers Thisaru Rashmika and Dhananjaya Lakshan struck early blows for Sri Lanka.
Zaryab made a steady 59 off 94 balls and posted a 61-run stand with Mohammad Taha to help Pakistan recover from their initial struggles.
Rashmika finished with figures of 3 for 47 to be the most successful among the Sri Lankan bowlers.
BRIEF SCORES
* Zimbabwe 154 all out in 48.1 overs (Milton Shumba 36; Anukul Roy 4 for 20) lost to India 155 for no loss in 21.4 overs (Shubman Gill 90 not out, Harvik Desai 56 not out) by 10 wickets
* Australia 370 for 8 in 50 overs (Nathan McSweeney 156, Jason Sangha 88, Param Uppal 61) vs Papua New Guinea 59 in 24.5 overs (Jason Ralston 7 for 15) by 311 runs
n Sri Lanka 188 in 48.2 overs (Jehan Daniel 53; Suleman Shafqat 3 for 29) lost to Pakistan 190 for 7 in 43.3 overs (Ali Zaryab 59; Thisaru Rashmika 3 for 47) by three wickets
pakistan
