Led by a superb 131 from Player-of-the-Match Musheer Khan, India steamrolled New Zealand by 214 runs in a Super Sixes Group 1 game of the under-19 World Cup in Bloemfontein, South Africa to extend their all-win run. Asked to bat first after Kiwi skipper Oscar Jackson won the toss, India rode on a fine 58-ball 52 from opener Adarsh Singh before No.3 Musheer came into his own.
The 18-year-old arrived at the crease in the fifth over of the match and stitched a vital 77-run alliance for the second wicket with Adarsh. Musheer notched up his second hundred in three matches off 109 balls before falling to Mason Clarke in the 48th over after a well made 126-ball 131. His knock was studded with 13 fours and three sixes.
After failing against Bangladesh in India’s tournament opener, Musheer has been on a dream run, scoring 118 against Ireland and 73 against USA before Tuesday’s match-winning knock. Six of India’s top seven batters got starts but only Adarsh and Musheer went past 35. Musheer’s knock though was enough to push India to a challenging 295/8.
“I have to continue this form in the coming matches. This is a slow pitch and our bowlers have been bowling well. They are in good form and we are getting the results,” Musheer said after the match. New Zealand’s hopes of overhauling the target received a blow early with pacer Raj Limbani striking first ball of the innings. Getting the ball to cut in sharply from back of length, Limbani broke through the defences of Tom Jones to put New Zealand on the backfoot. Four balls later, he again got the ball to seam in from good length to trap Snehith Reddy plumb in front.
New Zealand got little breathing room as skipper Uday Saharan introduced the left-arm spin of Saumy Pandey from the other end. Pandey found his length early and struck at regular intervals to finish with 4/19 from his ten overs. That three of his four dismissals were bowled or LBW indicated his discipline. This was Pandey’s second four-wicket haul in this World Cup following his 4/21 against Bangladesh. He also took 3/21 against Ireland and 1/13 versus USA.
Skipper Jackson was the top scorer with 19 runs as the Kiwis folded for 81 in 28.1 overs. “Limbani bowled well. He showed a different facet of this pitch when he bowled. We weren’t surprised by what the spinners did as we played against Ireland here. We knew what to expect,” Saharan said. India next play Nepal on Friday.
Brief scores: India 295/8 (Adarsh Singh 52, Musheer Khan 131, Mason Clarke 4/62); New Zealand 81 in 28.1 overs (Raj Limbani 2/17, Saumy Pandey 4/19, Musheer Khan 2/10). India won by 214 runs.
