After a dominant performance in the group stages, the India U19 team beat Bangladesh U19 in the quarterfinal of the ongoing U19 World Cup on January 26. Prithvi Shaw & Co. defeated the neighbours by a massive 131 runs and got the ticket to the semifinal. Under the guidance of former Indian captain Rahul Dravid, the Indian colts maintained their winning streak in this tournament and now they will play against the arch-rivals Pakistan on January 30.
Earlier this day, Shaw won the toss and elected to bat first. The Indian skipper missed his 4th consecutive fifty by a mere 10 runs, however, the vice-captain, Shubhman Gill, took the charge and scored his fifth consecutive fifty-plus score in a youth ODI.
Shubman Gill is only the 6th player and the 2nd Indian after Gaurav Dhiman to score five consecutive fifty-plus scores in Youth ODI cricket. Prithvi Shaw missed his 4th fifty in a row by 10 runs. #INDvBAN #U19CWC
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) January 26, 2018
Gill played a phenomenal knock of 86 runs off 94 balls and hit 9 boundaries. Later, wicketkeeper Harvik Desai (34) and Abhishek Sharma (50) provided the required support after the top order was back to the dressing room.
After 25 overs India are 133/2, with Shubman Gill hitting his third consecutive #U19CWC half-century, on 60 off 60 balls.#INDvBAN LIVE https://t.co/o7894eFF6l pic.twitter.com/gcHxk4PI6J
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 25, 2018
Finally, after putting a decent total of 265 runs on the scoreboard, the Indian teens were bundled up in the 50th over with 4 balls to spare.
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Bangladesh, who were the second team from their pool to qualify for the quarterfinals, had a target of 266 runs which seemed pretty chasable in the first. But the Indian bowlers left no stone unturned to shut their business down as soon as possible.
Despite a 43-run knock from the Bangladeshi opener Pinak Ghosh, the team could only score 134 in the 42.1 overs and lost all their 10 wickets. No batsmen except the opener could even score more than 18 runs.
A fourth big win of #U19CWC and India storm into the semis to face Pakistan for a place in the final!#INDvBAN REPORT https://t.co/Jnbco7wtBp pic.twitter.com/LxPKJugxqN
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 26, 2018
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Indian speedster Kamlesh Nagarkoti yet again showcased a terrific bowling performance and clinched 3 wickets in his spell of 7.1 overs. Shivam Mavi and Abhishek Sharma managed to pluck 2 scalps each while spinner Anukul Roy got 1.
Our final semi-finalist selfie! #INDvBAN #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/1yw3ovr3QT
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 26, 2018
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Shubhman Gill bagged the Player of the Match award for the outstanding inning he played while batting first.
Shubman Gill picked up his second Player of the Match award of #U19CWC after a fine 86 against Bangladesh! #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/UFdx8CQoJi
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 26, 2018
The performance of the Indian colts has been superb in the tournament so far. They won their first game by 100 runs and the next two by 10 wickets. In the quarterfinal, they maintained their momentum and defeated Bangladesh by 131 runs. With an aim to lift the World Cup trophy for the 4th time, India is all set to take on Pakistan on January 30 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
