BRISBANE – West Indies kicked off their campaign with a successful run-chase against India, beating the two-time former champion by four wickets in their opening match of the ICC Under-19 World Cup yesterday.
India were restricted to 166 for eight in their 50 overs by a tight West Indies bowling unit as the two-time former champions were unable to strike up any significant partnerships.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Smit Patel topscored, hitting a patient 51 off 99 balls with five fours before being bowled by pacer Ronsford Beaton, who finished as the most successful West Indies bowler with figures of 10-1-33-3.
Right-arm medium-pacer Kyle Mayers claimed the important wicket of India captain Unmukt Chand and was consistent, ending with two for 35 from 10 overs.India’s fast bowler Sandeep Sharma snared the early wickets of West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite (four) and Sunil Ambris (four), finishing with the tidy figures of two for 27 from ten overs with two maidens.
But John Campbell (36) and Anthony Alleyne (52) put the West Indies back on track with a 58-run third-wicket partnership.
For the fifth wicket, Alleyne and Kyle Mayers (43) put on another 58 runs after the West Indies had slipped from 71 for two to 75 for four.
India’s left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh was handy with the ball picking up three wickets but unfortunately not enough to successfully defend the Indian total and the West Indies claimed victory with 17 balls to spare.
Mayers, who was adjudged Player Of The Match, later said: “India had some quality spinners and I thought they bowled really well with great variation. I tried to bowl as tight as possible to create some pressure and eventually it worked out.
“There is always room for improvement; I would have liked to bat right through to the end.
“It is always good to start with a win and we would like to keep winning as a habit and continue on and win all of our games,” he said. (www.windiescricket.com)
