ICC U19 World Cup 2020: Kartik Tyagi, Atharva Ankolekar propel India into the semifinal

Scorecard

India U-19: 233-9

Yashasvi Jaiswal 62(82), Atharva Ankolekar 55(54); Todd Murphy 2/40

Australia U-19: 159 all-out

Sam Fanning 75(127), Liam Scott 35(71); Kartik Tyagi 4/24

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Good start for Australia with the ball

Australia opted to bowl first and struck early on to dealt a quick blow on their opponents as Divyansh Saxena, Tilak Verma and skipper Priyam Garg were all back in the hut with India in a spot of bother at 54-3.

However, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal ensured that he stayed at the crease in his attempt to keep the scoreboard ticking, but Australia continued to pick wickets at regular intervals. Jaiswal scored a fighting 62 off 82 balls but once he was removed, India found themselves struggling at 144-6.

India fight back

Post all-rounder Siddhesh Veer's dismissal, the Indian spinners produced a top effort with the bat that got the Priyam Garg-led side back into the contest. Atharva Ankolekar got together with Ravi Bishnoi (31-ball 30) and put up an important 61-run partnership that helped India get across the 200-run mark.

Ankolekar, in particular, ensured that he was there till the end and finished unbeaten on 55* in a knock laced with five fours and a lone six and guided India to 233/9 from 50 overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 62, Atharva Ankolekar's unbeaten 55 guide India U19 to 233/9 against Australia U19 in the #U19CWC quarterfinals. Will the India U19 bowlers manage to defend the total? 🤔🤔Follow it live 👉👉 https://t.co/7oEwkycsgb#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/CJ9VTSaiNM

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 28, 2020

Dream start with the ball for India

While a 234-run target was not the most challenging for a strong Australian side, the key for India was to pick up quick wickets. India got off to a dream start as Australia lost opener Jake Fraser-McGurk off the very first ball of their chase through a needless run-out.

Three balls later, Kartik Tyagi had Australian skipper Mackenzie Harvey trapped in front before the young pacer castled Lachlan Hearne off his very next ball to trigger celebrations in the Indian camp. At the end of the first over, Australia found themselves on 5-3, but more importantly in a whole lot of trouble.

Australia try to restore, but fall apart

Opener Sam Fanning then got together with keeper Patrick Rowe and the duo added 51 runs for the fifth wicket in an attempt to re-engineer the run chase. But Tyagi again broke that partnership and put India in the driver's seat.

Liam Scott walked in with the side reeling on 68/5, and the onus was on him to join forces with Fanning to get his side back in the chase. Scott and Fanning mixed patience with aggression in their partnership worth 81 runs but once Ravi Bishnoi removed Scott, the Australian innings derailed and Ankit Singh picked up the remaining three wickets to bowl Australia out for 159.

India thus won the game convincingly in the end by 74 runs and progressed to the semifinals.

Kartik Tyagi was named as the Man of the Match for his efforts of 4/24 with the ball and shared his thoughts on the changes he made to suit the conditions -

"The ball was swinging a bit, last two games were not good for me. I am happy to contribute today. I was trying to hit consistent areas today as I bowled a few wides in the last two games and this new strategy worked. We would want to give our best performance irrespective of the opposition."

The Semifinal Awaits For #TeamIndia! 👏👏Kartik Tyagi scalps four wickets while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Atharva Ankolekar score fifties as India U19 reach the final four of #U19CWC. #INDvAUSReport 📰 👉 https://t.co/N7vrhvYDmF pic.twitter.com/3swzNM4kFE

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 28, 2020