Indian U19 players celebrating a wicket during their match against Japan U19. (ACC media X account)
India thrashed Japan by 211 runs in the U19 Asia Cup match on Monday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. Chasing a mammoth 340 runs the Japanese batters have raised a white flag quite early in the innings. Coming on back off 52-all out against UAE in their previous clash the scares were there to see and the intent from the batting group seemed like just to play out the overs and get experience against quality Indian bowling.
15-year-old Hugo Kelly chipped in with a half-century. Though he lacked the power game he played some crisp shots all around the ground to reach the landmark. Chetan Sharma, Hardik Raj, and Karthikeya chipped in with a couple of wickets each for India. While the batters seemed decent enough against pace work needs to be done on how they play tweakers.
Earlier, Riding on a calm and calculated hundred from captain Mohammad Amaan, India posted 339 for 6 in 50 overs. India had a rollicking start courtesy of their openers Ayush Mhatre and Viabhav Suryavanshi as the duo forged together a 65-run stand for the first wicket. C Andre Siddarth and Karthikeya also played a crucial role.
But the knock of the day was played by Amaan, who remained unbeaten on 122. For Japan, Hugo Kelly (2/42) and Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake (2/74) were the most successful bowlers. Charles Hinze and Aarav Tiwari chipped in with a wicket apiece.
India lost their opening fixture against Pakistan earlier in the tournament. Riding on a scintillating hundred from opener Shahzaib Khan, Pakistan U-19 posted 281 for 7 before beating India by 43 runs in Dubai. Shahzaib scored 159, striking five fours and 10 monstrous maximums in his knock. He forged a 160-run opening wicket stand with Usman Khan Jr, who scored a cautious 60. His knock was studded with five crisp boundaries
In reply, India’s chase never got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals save for all-rounder Nikhil Kumar’s 67 and an unlikely 47-run stand for the last wicket between Mohamed Enaan and Yudhajit. India were eventually bowled out for 237, with pacer Ali Raza being the pick of the Pakistan bowlers with three wickets.
