Rishabh Pant smashed a record 18-ball fifty as India U19 topped Group D with a seven-wicket win over second placed Nepal U19 in the Under-19 World Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
On the other match of the same group, New Zealand U19 registered a consolation four-wicket win against Ireland U19 while the Afghan youths handed their Canadian counterpart a four-wicket defeat to remain third in Group B.
India U19 v Nepal U19
Nepal managed only 169/8 after a delayed start saw both teams lose two overs from the stipulated 50.
Put into bat, Sandeep Sunar top scored with 37 while Rajbir Singh made 35 as Nepal posed no real threat against the Indian bowling attack. Medium pacer Avesh Khan picked three scalps while Mayank Dagar and Washington Sundar took two wickets each.
In reply, India stormed to their target with more than 30 overs to spare courtesy of an outstanding first wicket partnership between Pant and captain Ishant Kishan.
Left-handed Pant hammered the fastest fifty of youth ODIs while Kishan made 52 as the duo added 124 runs to take the game away in a flash.
Pant was heading towards the fastest century record but eventually returned after scoring 78 off just 24 balls which featured nine fours and five sixes.
New Zealand U19 v Ireland U19
The Kiwis registered their first win of the tournament in Fatullah after restricting Ireland to 212 and reaching the target with four wickets in hand despite an early hiccup.
The side was reduced to 45 for four inside 13 overs before middle-order batters Finn Allen and Dale Philips joined in the middle to rack up a match-winning 141-run fifth wicket partnership. Allen missed out on the magical three figures by just three runs while Philips scored a composed 58.
Afghanistan U19 v Canada U19
At the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Tariq’s 56 guided the Afghans to an easy win with 25 overs to spare.
Tariq smashed nine fours and six and was complimented by skipper Ihsanullah who scored 31 to help their side register their first win in three games.
Earlier, Canada were bundled out for a mere 147 with Muslim Musa and Samsur Rahman taking three wickets each. Arsalan Khan was the only notable scorer for Canada with 38 runs.