ICC Under-19 World Cup 2018: India v Bangladesh, Hits and Misses

India have set up a mouth-watering clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final of the ICC under-19 World Cup with a massive victory over Bangladesh in Queenstown on Friday (January 26).

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, India posted a total 265 at the end of 50 overs, courtesy a chiseled performance from their batsmen. Bangladesh put up a valiant effort with the ball to restrict them to less than 300 with some inspired spin-bowling.

However, they fell short by 131 runs in trying to chase the total and were outclassed by the professional display by the Indian team.

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#5 Shubman Gill

The vice-captain is surely one to watch out for in the future!

The Indian vice-captain has continued his impressive run in the tournament, adding yet another half-century to his account with his imposing knock against Bangladesh.

After coming in to bat earlier than he would've anticipated, Gill dominated the proceedings and stitched an important partnership with his skipper, who was exercising caution at the other end.

Gill scored 86 runs in just 94 deliveries and played a pivotal role in India reaching a competitive total. He now has three back-to-back fifties in the competition and two of them were excruciatingly close to the three-figure mark.

When he crossed 70 in this innings, he became the first under-19 cricketer to score 1000 runs with an average in excess of 100. He was dropped on 49, but to his credit, made the most out of the opportunity that came his way.

#4 Miss: Saif Hassan

Right from the toss, everything went wrong for the captain

It was imperative for the Bangladesh skipper to step up in the chase and lead from the front on the big day so as to encourage his teammates to punch above their weight in the game.

However, in spite of a laudable effort put up by Pinak Ghosh at the top of the order, Hassan could not accompany him in the middle for long. He was dismissed for just 12 runs off 23 deliveries, a knock that included just two fours and no sixes.

He bowled almost nine overs in the first innings of the match but was unable to draw blood, despite the extensive spell that he gave himself. It is safe to say that this was a forgettable day for the 19-year-old, in all aspects of the game.

#3 Hit: Abhishek Sharma

Sharma could not be kept out of the game today!

The youngster was India's main man in the field today. He excelled with the bat as well as the ball and held on to some crucial catches in the field.

After the impetus provided by the captain and the vice-captain at the top of the innings, the Indian middle order failed to capitalize on the foundation. At one stage, the going was tough for Prithvi Shaw's boys on the field. However, Sharma stepped up when it mattered the most and scored an imperative half-century, which swung the momentum in India's favour.

Then, when India took the field to defend the tricky total, he chipped in with the ball to scalp a couple of wickets. The 17-year-old bamboozled the opposition with his left-arm orthodox bowling and completed an all-round performance today.

His terrific take at first slip to dismiss Hasan Mahmud on a duck probably was one of the highlights of the day.

#2 Miss: Bangladesh middle-order

It was a dismal show by the Bangladesh middle order

Every Bangladesh batsman, except Ghosh, failed to make a sizeable contribution to the chase today. However, the biggest disappointment came from their middle-order players, who couldn't even build a 30-run partnership between them in the innings.

Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain and Aminul Islam made a grand total of 30 runs between them and took as many as 65 deliveries to do so. The low strike-rate would not have been an issue if even one of them stayed at the crease for a substantial amount of time. However, that did not happen, thereby adding to the mounting pressure on the inexperienced lower-order batsmen.

To add insult to injury, Hridoy and Islam were victims of a combination of terrific fielding from the Indians and suicidal running between the wickets. Those back-to-back runouts crippled the chase and punched a massive dent in Bangladesh's chances of winning the game.

#1 Hit: Indian seam bowlers

Are the seam bowlers India's best players in the tournament?

The 265 posted by India in the first innings was certainly a fighting total, but was definitely not enough to threaten the determined Bangladesh unit. Their top order refused to give in easily and tried to fit through the challenge posed by the Indian seamers. Midway through the innings, they were still in the game at 76-3.

Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi impressed with their pace and precision yet again and scalped five wickets between them, giving away just 45 runs in the 15 overs they bowled. They were also as sharp as panthers in the field, and were responsible for the two massive run-outs of the game.

Medium pacer, Ishan Porel, was not amongst the wickets but bowled with an exceptional economy of just 1.6 runs per over. The 19-year-old's commendable effort deserves a mention as well as a pat on the back, which he will surely get from his captain and coach.