U-19 World Cup: India colts thrash Bangladesh, set up semis clash with Pakistan

Prithvi ShawTitle contenders India justified their top billing as they clinically decimated Bangladesh by 131 runs in the quarterfinal to set up a mouthwatering last four clash with archrivals Pakistan in the ICC U19 World Cup here today The Prithvi Shawled team outclassed their nextdoor neighbours with consummate ease scoring 265 and then bundling out the hosts for a paltry 134 in 421 oversThe boys really executed the plans well as we have practised in the net session Really looking forward to the contest against Pakistan skipper Shaw said after the match Abhishek Sharma who missed out on the Man of the match award to his Punjab teammate Shubhman Gill 86 off 94 balls was undoubtedly the star performer with his brilliant all round showHe first scored a quick 50 off 49 balls and then took a couple of wickets 211 along with two catches Such was Indias domination that despite a lowerorder batting collapse their bowlers scythed through Bangladesh middleorder with speedsters Kamlesh Nagarkoti 318 in 71 overs and Shivam Mavi 227 in 8 overs once again working up brisk pace Save opener Pinak Ghosh 43 none of the other Bangladeshi batsmen could cross the 20run mark in what turned out to be a virtually onesided contestNagarkoti who is expected to be sought after uncapped pick at the IPL auctions once again regularly hit the 140 kmph mark beating the batsmen for sheer pace Some of the Bangladeshs lowerorder batsmen looked mortally scared as they were seen retreating towards the leg stump trying to avoid getting hurt The Indian spinners leftarm trio of Shiva Singh 029 in 7 overs Anukul Roy 114 in 5 overs and Abhishek 211 in 5 overs kept it really tight as the Bangladesh batsmen found it even difficult rotate the strike with singles and doublesEven Ishan Porel 08 in 5 overs coming back after recuperating from ankle injury was fast and accurate during his only spell of the match While Rahul Dravids boys will gear up for their semi final against Pakistan the only worrying factor will be lack of the contribution from the lowerorder who were exposed for the first time From a comfortable 215 for 4 India lost six wickets for 50 runs on a pitch that was slowish in nature with strokeplay being difficultDravid will have to look into this issue as Pakistan are expected to be a far more accomplished team with better quality bowling attack during the semifinal scheduled on January 30 However there was no stopping Shubhman who hit nine boundaries in his 94 ball knock Someone who loves taking the aerial route Shubhman was seen hitting a lot of balls down the ground as he shared 86 run second wicket stand with Shaw 40 54 balls and 74 for the third wicket with glovesman Desai 34Rahul sir Dravid had told me to play along the ground more and I tried doing that Gill said with a sheepish grin as Dravid standing among the players had a hearty laugh showing thumbs up to Gill We had initially thought that we could get upto 280 to 300 but the wicket was on the slower side said Gill Once Gill was gone the cheeky Abhishek kept the scoreboard ticking despite losing out on partners as he hit six boundaries It was courtesy Abhishek that India gotpast the 200run mark He is a brilliant allrounder and he contributed really well today skipper Shaw said todayCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go