India started the U-19 World Cup campaign with flying colours. India U19 defeated Bangladesh by 84 runs in the first match of the competition on Saturday. India batted first and scored 251 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. In reply, Bangladesh were all out for 167 runs in 45.5 overs.
India’s fast victory is behind the fast batting of captain Uday Saharan (64) and Adarsh Singh (76). Likewise, Soumya Pandey (4/24) and Musir Khan (2/35) bowled flawlessly. Bangladesh captain Mahfuzur Rahman Rabbi won the toss and decided to field. India’s opener Arshin Kulkarni (7) and No. 3 A Nama Mushir (3) returned quickly but Adarsh batted admirably. Captain Uday gave him a worthy accompaniment. Adarsh scored 76 runs off 96 balls. On the other hand, Uday scored 64 runs off 94 balls. Besides, Priyanshu Molia (23), Aravelli Avneesh (23) and Sachin Dasera (26 not out) gave the team confidence in the middle order. Among the Bangladeshi bowlers, Nazar Maruf Mridha took five wickets.
Bangladesh batsmen could not settle on the wicket after scoring 252 runs. They keep losing wickets at regular intervals. Apart from Ariful Islam (41), Md. Shihab James (54), no one could depend on the team’s innings. Soumya bowled well. Musir, brother of Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan, did not perform well with the bat, but excelled in fielding and bowling.
With today’s victory, Team India avenged the loss to Bangladesh in the semi-finals of the Asia Cup. Besides, four years ago, Bangladesh defeated India in the U-19 World Cup semi-final on this South African soil. Team India avenged that loss.