India secure third win on the trot to storm into the Super Six stages of the U-19 World Cup

The Indian U-19 team made easy work of USA U-19 as they rode roughshod over their counterparts, producing an all-round display to clinch another important win in the ongoing U-19 World Cup that is being played in South Africa.

On winning the toss, USA put India into bat first. Adarsh Singh and the eventual hero of the match for the Boys in Blue, Arshin Kulkarni, started off on a feisty note. The opening duo added 46 runs for the opening stand before Adarsh was dismissed by Ateendra Subramaniam.

Despite the fall of Adarsh, Musheer Khan joined Kulkarni and chimed in with a sensational knock as he blasted 73 from 76 balls while Kulkarni smashed a blistering ton to lead the Indian charge with the bat. 

USA did manage a handful of breakthroughs to stall the breezy run rate but India did manage to put up a show with cameos from Priyanshu Moliya (27*), Sachin Dhas (20) and Aravelly Avanish (12*) that launched them to a staggering 326/5 at the end of innings. Kulkarni was the leading scorer for India U-19 with 108 from 118 balls.

Defending 326, the Indian bowlers stormed through the gates early, leaving the top-order of USA flummoxed.. Raj Limbani and Naman Tiwari dealt a couple of early blows to remove the USA openers, Prannav Chettipalayam and Bhavya Mehta, for a paltry two runs on the board.

Barring an important stand of resilience from Utkarsh Srivastava (40) and Amogh Reddy Arepally (27), the USA batters could barely find an opening against the formidable Indian bowling force.

Eventually, USA U-19 finished at 125/8 with Naman Tiwari spearheading the Indian bowling unit with figures of 4/20 while he had help from Limbani, Saumy Pandey, Murugan Abhishek and Moliya who claimed a wicket apiece to get the wheels rolling for India. The Boys in Blue secured a 201-run win over their counterparts as Arshin Kulkarni won the Player of the Match award.