Muscat: Aaryavir Sehwag and skipper Lakshya Raichandani struck unbeaten half-centuries as India thrashed Nepal by 10 wickets in their first Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup match at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground here on Friday.
Chasing a modest 129, Aaryavir and Raichandani finished off the runs in only 19.1 overs. Earlier, fast bowler Ishan Sood’s three-wicket burst with the new ball ensured Nepal were bowled out for 128 in 42.3 overs.
After electing to bowl first on a pitch that carried a thin layer of grass, Sood moved the ball both ways and beat the bat repeatedly in an opening spell of six overs. That effort led to Sood picking three wickets as the Nepal batters struggled to get going. Sood finished with figures of 3-18 from his 10 overs bowled on the trot, including four maidens.
Darsh Sonar (43 off 93 balls) steadied the innings after the early collapse by adding partnerships of 24 and 43 respectively with Niraj Yadav and Aashish Luhar to push Nepal past 100. Once Sonar’s partnership with Luhar was broken, Nepal’s lower order fell apart. Left-arm spinner Arjun Rajput took three wickets and Yashveer Goud had two scalps as Nepal were all out for 128.
By the time India’s chase began, the new ball did not swing much. Aaryavir and Raichandani played out the first few overs carefully before they began hitting boundaries at regular intervals. Aaryavir, son of former India opener Virender Sehwag, went after the Nepal spinners.
He often stepped out of the crease to loft the ball down the ground and reached his half-century off just 34 balls. Raichandani was content in rotating the strike while Aaryavir took the attacking route, and later brought up his own fifty off 59 balls.
The comprehensive victory completed with 185 balls remaining ensured India took to the top of Group A with two points and a net run rate of 4.170. India will next face arch-rivals Pakistan in their second Group A clash on Sunday.
Brief Scores: Nepal 128 in 42.3 overs (Darsh Sonar 43, Aashish Luhar 29; Arjun Rajput 3-8, Ishan Sood 3-18) lost to India 129/0 in 19.1 overs (Aaryavir Sehwag 70 not out, Lakshya Raichandani 53 not out) by ten wickets
(IANS)
