Musheer Khan’s blitz and clinical bowling performance saw India continue their hot run of form and prevail over New Zealand with a 214-run victory in the Super Six stage of the ongoing U-19 World Cup on Tuesday at the Mangaung Oval. India made early inroads, with Raj Limbani’s pace setting the tone of the game. He dismissed opener Tom Jones for a golden duck and Snehith Reddy for a four-ball duck in the first over. Left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey came in from the other end, weaved his magic and chipped in with a couple of wickets. NZ skipper Oscar Jackson was one player who tried to take the fight against the Indian bowlers but got bowled while attempting to fend the ball towards the leg side.
New Zealand batters struggled to deal with India’s disciplined bowling and fell like a house of cards.
Throughout the chase of 296, only four Kiwi batters were able to cross the double-digit mark which more or less depicted the story of the entire innings.
Saumy ended the game with a four-wicket haul to his name, while Limbani in his six-over spell claimed two while giving away just 17 runs.
Earlier in the innings, after New Zealand won the toss and opted to field, Musheer scored a brilliant 131, taking the New Zealand bowlers to the fences, and Adarsh contributed a valuable 52 runs. India finished at 295/8.
The leading wicket-taker for Blackcaps was Clarke who snapped four wickets in his spell of eight overs while conceding 62 runs. Ryan Tsourgas, Ewald Schreuder, Zac Cummingand Oliver Tewatiya got a wicket each.
Adarsh Singh and Arshin Kulkarni came to the crease to open the innings for Team India and put on 28 runs for the first wicket. Arshin was dismissed after scoring just nine runs in the fifth over of the bowling of Mason Clarke.
After Arshin’s departure, Musheer Khan came to bat and steadied the innings. Both the youngsters put on a partnership of 77 runs as India lost their second wicket at a score of 105 runs. Adarsh’s 52 runs came from 58 balls and included six boundaries.
India skipper Uday Saharan was next on the crease and built a partnership of 87 runs with Musheer. India lost the skipper at the score of 192 runs in the 37th over. Uday went back to the dressing room after scoring 34 runs.
Musheer went on to score a century and his 131 runs from 126 balls included 13 fours and three sixes. He was on the crease till the 48th over of the innings and got out of the bowling of Clarke.
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