U-19 World Cup: India Thrash Zimbabwe In Last Group Tie 

Tauranga (New Zealand): India crushed Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in a Group B clash to maintain their all-win record at the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Friday. Left-arm apinner Anukul Sudhakar Roy spearheaded the Indian bowling effort with figures of 4/20 as Zimbabwe were dismissed for 154 runs in 48.1 overs. Openers Harvik Desai and Shubman Gill then produced unbeaten half-centuries to carry India to victory in just 21.4 overs. The Indian boys have thus finished the opening round at the top of Group B with six points after winning all their three matches.

They will face Bangladesh, who are second in Group C, in the quarter-finals. Zimbabwe are out of the tournament, having finished third in the group with two points from three matches. Electing to bat first, Zimbabwe ran into trouble right at the start when opener Gregory Dollar was bowled by Indian fast bowler Shivam Mavi in the third over. The other Zimbabwe opener Wesley Madhevere was then involved in two partnerships with Dion Myers and Milton Shumba.

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The trio did their best to keep the Indian bowlers at bay, but struggled to keep the run rate going. Once the three of them had returned to pavilion, the batsmen in Zimbabwe's middle and lower order were cleaned up by the Indian bowlers with four of them falling before reaching double figures. Shumba was the highest scorer for Zimbabwe with 36 runs off 59 deliveries. Apart from Roy, Arshdeep and Abhishek Sharma also bowled well, ending up with a couple of wickets each.

Desai and and Gill then put on an unbeaten opening stand of 155 runs to power the Indians to an easy victory. Gill scored a quickfire 90 off 59 balls which was studded with 13 boundaries and a six. Desai produced a steady 56 off 73 balls with eight boundaries an a six. In another Group B match in Christchurch on Friday, Australia thrashed minnows Papua New Guinea (PNG) by 312 runs to qualify for the knockout rounds.

Australia finished second in the group with four points from three matches. They are slated to meet Group C toppers England in the last eight stage. PNG have lost all their three group matches and exit the tournament with zero points. Asked to bat first, a century from opener Nathan McSweeney coupled with half-centuries by Jason Sangha and Paran Uppal powered Australia to an imposing total of 370/8 in their 50 overs.

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The boys from Down Under suffered an early blow when PNG pacer Semo Kamea bowled opener Max Bryant in the second over. But Nathan and Jason got together to produce a 250-run partnership which gave Australia the upper hand. Nathan scored 156 runs off 111 balls with 18 boundaries and four hits over the fence. Jason made 88 runs with five boundaries and two sixes studding his 102-ball knock. James Tau dismissed the duo off consecutive deliveries in the 36th over, but Uppal walked to score 61 runs off 42 deliveries to help Australia finish their innings on a strong note.

Tau, Kamea, Leke Morea and Daure Aiga claimed two wickets each for PNG. Pacer Jason Ralston then returned figures of 7/15 as Australia bundled out PNG for a mere 59 runs. Ralston's figures was the best ever bowling effort in the history of the U19 World Cup. Morea was the only PNG batsman who managed to post double figures. This was PNG's second lowest total at the U19 World Cup. PNG lost wickets at regular intervals right from the start and were reduced to 26/7 within nine overs. The result was a mere formality from there on. Meanwhile in Group D, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets at the Cobham Oval in Whangarei. Pakistan thus finished at the top of the group with four points from three matches. Sri Lanka have finished their group engagements with two points from three matches.

Opting to bowl first, Pakistan dismissed Sri Lanka for 188 runs in 48.2 overs. Suleman Shafqat was the most successful bowler for Pakistan with figures of 3/29 while fellow fast bowler Shaheen Afridi bagged two wickets. Jehan Daniel's knock of 53 runs off 70 balls ws the highlight of the Sri Lankan innings. Sri Lanka ran into rough weather right from the start and were tottering at 72/5 in the 23rd over. Daniel then added 76 runs along with Ashen Bandara as the duo tried to steady the boat. But once they departed in back to overs, Sri Lanka's hopes of posting a respectable total went up in smoke. In reply, Pakistan overhauled the target with 39 deliveries left.

Ali Zaryab struck a half-century to spearhead the Pakistan chase after pacers Thisaru Rashmika and Dhananjaya Lakshan struck early blows for Sri Lanka. Zaryab made a steady 59 off 94 balls and posted a 61-run stand with Mohammad Taha to help Pakistan recover from their initial struggles. Rashmika finished with figures of 3/47 to be the most successful among the Sri Lankan bowlers.

Brief scores: Group B: Zimbabwe: 154 in 48.1 overs (Milton Shumba 36; Anukul Roy 4/20) vs India: 155 for no loss in 21.4 overs (Shubman Gill 90 not out, Harvik Desai 56 not out). Australia: 370/8 in 50 overs (Nathan McSweeney 156, Jason Sangha 88, Param Uppal 61) vs Papua New Guinea: 59 in 24.5 overs (Jason Ralston 7/15). Group D: Sri Lanka 188 in 48.2 overs (Jehan Daniel 53; Suleman Shafqat 3/29) lost to Pakistan 190/7 in 43.3 overs (Ali Zaryab 59; Thisaru Rashmika 3/47) by three wickets. (IANS)