2018 Under-19 World Cup, India vs Zimbabwe: Things which went right for India

The Prithvi Shaw-led Under-19 Indian team won their final Group B encounter against Zimbabwe by 10 wickets to complete a hat-trick of wins at Mount Maunganui on Friday.

Chasing 155 to win, India reached home safely with all their wickets intact and 170 balls remaining, to top their group with three wins in three matches.

The young Indian side, who had a perfect start to their campaign after they defeated the three-time winners Australia by 100 runs in the first match on Sunday, entered the quarterfinals with their second win at Bay Oval when they defeated minnows Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets.

Now, let us have a look at five important factors that led to India's win.

#1 Shubman Gill's fireworks

Vice-captain, Shubman Gill, who opened the batting for India, continued his fine run of form as he remained unbeaten on 90 from 59 balls.

The 18-year-old Gill, who had impressed during the England series in 2017 by scoring 278 runs in four innings at a staggering average of 93, scored his second fifty of the tournament and won the Man of the Match award.

During India's first game of the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup against Australia, Gill picked up the innings after Prithvi Shaw's dismissal as he scored 63 runs in just 54 deliveries.

Gill's attacking innings, which had six fours and a six, ensured that India were well on track to cross the 300-run mark.

#4 Picking up wickets at regular intervals

Doesn't matter if you are batting first or second, it is always important to strike at regular intervals to keep the opposition's batsmen under check and slow down the scoring rate.

This young Indian bowling unit has been a menacing one as none of their opponents could put up a fight against them so far.

The wiry pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti could not be among the wickets and Shivam Mavi just claimed one but Anukul Sharma was the stars of the show with his four-wicket haul.

Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh also chipped in with two wickets each.

#3 Prithvi Shaw's captaincy

It is very important for a team to have an excellent leader at the helm if they wish to be successful and Prithvi Shaw is just what this Indian team needed.

It is vital for a skipper to lead by example and Shaw does just that.

He plays to his strengths and makes an efficient use of the resources at his disposal.

Even at this young age, the Indian skipper is quite confident in his choices and makes the arduous task of leading a team on the international stage look like a cakewalk.

Although Shaw did not walk out to bat on Friday, he has been India's most prolific batsman in the tournament.

In the opening game against Australia, the young skipper led from the front with a 94-run knock and shared a 180-run stand with fellow opener Manjot Kalra (86) to power India to a colossal 328/7.

Shaw brought up back-to-back fifties and remained unbeaten on 57 off 39 balls against Papua New Guinea.

#2 Performance of spinner Anukul Roy

Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy produced another scintillating performance as he ran through Zimbabwe's middle-order and ended up with figures of 4 for 20 in 7.1 overs.

Zimbabwe were getting a partnership going with Shumbe and Roche but Roy picked up two wickets in three deliveries and then picked another in his next over to leave Zimbabwe six down.

Roy has been quite impressive in the tournament so far. He had left the Papua New Guinea batsmen completely clueless as he picked up a five-wicket haul on Tuesday.

As a unit, Indian bowlers were totally unplayable as their opposition folded at 154 in 48.1 overs.

#1 Opening partnership

In their final group stage game of the tournament, India decided to give their regular opening pair of Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra some rest and sent wicket-keeper Harvik Desai and vice-captain Shubman Gill to open the proceedings.

Even with the reshuffle in their batting order, India did not face any problem whatsoever, to chase down Zimbabwe's target of 155 with 170 balls remaining.

Gill and Desai shared a 156-run unbeaten opening stand to guide India to a big win. Gill (90*) brought up his second fifty of the tournament, while Desai remained unbeaten on 56.

India had made it to the quarterfinals after beating Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets on Tuesday but their batsmen did not get to spend much time in the middle ahead of knockout stage as Shaw and Kalra did most of the scoring and that is why the team management decided to try out a new pair at the top.