Under-19 Tri-series: Unbeaten India U-19 march into yet another final

India Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid with Sarfaraz Khan(L) and Rishabh Pant(R)

The Indian under-19 side continued their impressive form, as they steamrolled into the final of the Tri-nation under-19 tournament, being played in Sri Lanka. The team has so far remained unbeaten in the tournament, after beating Sri Lanka U-19 and England U-19, twice.

The Indian boys have once again performed consistently and picked up from they left off, after their tri-series win in Kolkata, last month. Here, once again, they’ll look to clinch another tri-series trophy, under their able mentor Rahul Dravid.

From their four group matches, India have collected 17 points and sit pretty atop the points table. England on the other hand, have lost all their group matches so far, and are in a must-win game against hosts Sri Lanka, in their final group game.

In their first match against England, which was reduced to 34 overs due to rain, India who batted first, scored at a quick pace and finished at 254/7, with a run rate of nearly 7.5. Chasing a revised target of 246, England lost the game by 86 runs. Sarfaraz Khan was the star with the bat as he notched up 84 off just 66 deliveries.

Match 1: India Under-19s 254 for 7 in 34 overs (Sarfaraz 84, Anmolpreet 56, Green 3-28) beat England Under-19s 159 for 9 in 29 overs (Lawrence 55, Lomror 4-10) by 86 runs (D/L method).

In their next two matches too, India won comfortably after batting first and restricted the opposition in rather tight finishes. Against Sri Lanka, young Amandeep Khare scored a brilliant century in just 97 balls.

Match 2: India U-19s 284 for 7 (Khare 102, Washington 77, Asitha Fernando 3-54) beat Sri Lanka U-19s 250 for 5 (Avishka Fernando 75, Asalanka 74) by 4 runs (D/L method)

Match 3: India U-19s 261 (Pant 71, Rana 50) beat England U-19s 241 (Bartlett 70, Batham 3-24, Dagar 3-27) by 20 runs.

The young team then chased for the first time, in their final group match against hosts Sri Lanka, as they won by 4 wickets, and consolidated their position on the top of the points table.

Match 4: India U-19s 223 for 6 (Sundar 61, Virat 60*, Kumara 2-33) beat Sri Lanka U-19s (Bandara 74, Mendis 65, Ahmed 4-55) by four wickets.

The Rahul Dravid-mentored side will now await the result of the final group match being played between Sri Lanka and England, to meet either of them in the final to be played on the 21st of December, at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, and will look to emerge victorious in their second straight Tri-series.