Christchurch: India stands a step away from glory after entering the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup beating Pakistan by a massive margin of 203 runs here on Tuesday (January 30).
In the title clash on Saturday (February 3), India will take on Australia, whom they had beaten by 100 runs in the league stage of the tournament on January 14.
For the record, India made 272 for nine in the allotted 50 overs courtesy a fine 102 by in-form Shubman Gill and handy knocks by skipper Prithvi Shaw (41) and his opening partner Manjot Kalra (47).
Pakistan were never in the chase as pacer Ishan Porel reduced them to 28 for 4 in 11.1 overs and eventually they were bundled out for 69 as India celebrated a significant win.
The finest feature of Indian wins thus far in the tournament has been their collective nature. The Indian batsmen and bowlers functioned like a well oiled machine so far in the tournament.
Of course, there are stand out performers and none shone brighter than Gill. The right-hander, whose shot making, particularly that flick, reminded many of Virat Kohli, has so far made 341 runs from five matches at an astounding 170.50 (strike rate of 113.28).
Shaw has not dished out one of his trademark big innings yet here but has ensured that India got off to a decent start every time when they entered the park.
Similarly, Indian pacers Kamlesh Nagarkoti (7 wickets) and Shivam Mavi (8 wickets) who bowled over 140 kmph kept the opposition under check. But the effort of Anukul Roy, who has taken 12 wickets to be among the top five wicket takers in the tournament, has been quite surprising.
In conditions not precisely suitable to left-arm spin, Roy has kept a tight leash on batsmen in the middle overs in the company of fellow left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma.
The one missing link has been Ishan Porel but the pacer joined the party in splendid style in the semifinal match against Paksitan, taking four wickets to rock the neighbour’s top order.
But the most important job is pending – the title clash against Australia. Yes, India had a big win over the Antipodeans in the beginning phase but since then they had gathered pace and looked a formidable unit.
The win in the league stage will indeed serve as a confidence booster ahead of the title clash but will not have any more bearing on the match.
It’s big moment and they need to produce that collective effort one more time to tame it. But there’s no sign telling us that wards of Rahul Dravid, man who knows how to win the key days, cannot do that.
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