ICC Under-19 World Cup: India v Zimbabwe, Hits and Misses

With every game that they play in the tournament, the Indian under-19 team is emerging as a strong candidate to take home the elite trophy. Under Prithvi Shaw’s leadership and Rahul Dravid’s guidance, the team won by 10 wickets for the second consecutive time.

Last time, it was against the new and inexperienced team of Papua New Guinea. This time, however, the youngsters were challenged by Zimbabwe, a Test-playing nation. The Indians shone just as brightly though, as they went on to register their third consecutive victory of the campaign.

Bowlers impressed once again in the first innings of the game and managed to dismiss Zimbabwe for a meek score of 154 in 48.1 overs. The batsmen then joined the party, as the openers chased the target with more than 28 overs to spare.

Here are the hits and misses from India’s dominant victory in the match:

#1 Hit: Shubman Gill

The Indian vice-captain was sent in to open the innings today and the youngster grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He scored a quick-fire 90 off just 59 deliveries, a knock that included 13 fours and one six, with which he reached his half-century. He started pelting the Zimbabwean attack from the second over of the chase and did not stop thereafter.

The youngster has an incredible bat swing, strong technical backing and no shortage of talent. He is equally adept at playing on the back foot as well as the front foot, and does not shy away from playing his shots. The immense off-drives that the right-hander played impressed one and all on the day.

The youngster revealed after the game that he was just trying to play nice and straight throughout the innings. It clearly worked in his favour and he looks up and ready for the challenge, just like the rest of the Indian unit.

#2 Miss: Zimbabwean middle order

Liam Roche's men struggled to post a competitive total

Liam Roche’s men tried hard to post a fighting total in the first innings of the game, but could never get into the scheme of things. They lost wickets at regular intervals, failed to rotate the strike and struggled to make a real impact on the game.

Wesley Madhavere, Ruche, and Milton Shumba reached scores in excess of 30 in an attempt to build a foundation for the batsmen to follow, but no one seized the opportunity provided by the pair. The middle order, in particular, fell like a pack of cards.

The introduction of spin into the attack rattled these batsmen and exposed the flaws in their technique. The scoreboard barely moved as the Indians kept scalping wickets frequently, thereby crushing the competition before it had even reached a truly competitive level.

#3 Hit: Anukul Roy

Roy has picked up 9 wickets in the last two 2 games

The left-arm spinner has announced himself on the big stage, once again!

After winning the Man of the Match award for his first five-for in the game against PNG, the 19-year-old rose to the occasion once again on Friday (Jan 19). He crippled the Zimbabwean batting order with his third 4-wicket haul in under-19 cricket.

He now has 26 wickets at the youth level at an incredible bowling average of just 11.04 and an economy of under 3 runs per over.

He was the one to dismiss both Shumba and the Zimbabwean skipper, both of whom were looking settled at 36 and 31 respectively. Roy also sent Robert Chimhinya and Nkosilathi Nungu back to the pavilion to stop the lower order from making any sort of noise later in the innings.

#4 Miss: Dion Myers

Dion Myers was taken to the cleaners

With just 10 runs with the bat and an economy of 9.8 with the bowl, the right-hander had a horror show.

He was unable to steady the innings with the bat and could manage to score just 10 runs off the 27 deliveries that he faced in the first innings. He tried to stay at the crease and fend off the Indian attack but ended up giving his wicket away with a terrible lofted shot.

The day of disappointment wasn’t yet over for the youngster though. He was taken to the cleaners when he came on to bowl later in the innings, and he gave away as many as 26 runs off the 2.4 overs that he bowled. In fact, Gill hit the winning runs with a boundary on the fourth delivery of Myers' third over.

It suffices to say, the Zimbabwean youngster did not have a good day at the office today.

#5 Hit: Harvik Desai

Temperament that's way ahead of his years

If Gill was fire, Harvik Desai was ice.

The 18-year-old might not have hit it as fast and hard as Gill did, but he did hold one end up for the Indian vice-captain, scoring a 50 of his own in the process.

The wicket-keeper batsman was sent up the order to get an idea of the conditions, just like his opening partner. Both did not let the chance go begging and made the most out of the feeble, frittering and fumbling bowling attack that was put in front of them.

He scored 56 off 73 deliveries. He hit eight fours and one six in his innings and played cautiously through its length. He was just as impressive as his partner and the maturity that he showed to keep his head in spite of the carnage that was apparent at the other end says a lot about his temperament and character.