Calcutta: An all-round display from the Indians helped them emerge winners in the U-19 tri-series, at the JU Salt Lake Campus ground, on Sunday.
The India U-19 team thus finished the meet with a bang, beating Bangladesh U-19 by seven wickets in the final with as many as 36.3 overs to spare. That sums up their domination in the tournament, where they remained unbeaten.
While the bowlers were led by Mayank Dagar, the batting unit revolved around Sarfaraz Khan. After bundling the Bangladeshis out for a paltry 116 in 36.5 overs, the Indian colts rode Sarfaraz's breezy 59, taking only 13.3 overs in overhauling the target. No wonder coach Rahul Dravid is pretty upbeat about his wards' chances in next year's U-19 World Cup, as preparation wise, they do seem to be on the right track.
The job practically was done in the first session itself as Dagar (3/32) and the other left-armers - Mahipal Lomror and Shubham Mavi - shared seven wickets among themselves to destroy the visitors' batting after they won the toss and opted to bat.
The line and length that the India U-19 bowlers bowled certainly made the task tougher for the rival batsmen, although poor shot selection was also responsible for the Bangladesh side's capitulation. Joyraj Sheik Imon, Mohammed Najmul Hassan Shanto and Jaker Ali Anik got themselves in, but couldn't go on to convert their knocks into big ones.
At one stage, though, it seemed as if the visitors would be able to find their way out of trouble when Joyraj and Shanto were at the crease. Looking steady in the middle after the openers had gone cheaply, both batsmen looked to be laying the platform for a late flourish till Joyraj fell to Mavi, flicking one straight to the fielder in the deep.
With the 54-run partnership broken, captain Mehidy Hassan Miraz departed the very next over, playing a very poor shot off Dagar before the left-arm spinner got one to turn and bounce a bit more that rattled the stumps of Shanto. The Bangladeshis just couldn't recover post Shanto's dismissal as their last five wickets fell for only 20 runs.
The strokes that some of their batsmen tried to play, it appeared as if they were practising how to get out.
In reply, Rishabh Pant, consistent in providing his team with breezy starts, continued in the same fashion, finding the gaps and clearing the fields at ease. But trying to go for one shot too many brought about his downfall. India then lost two more wickets in the form of Washington Sundr and Amandeep Khare.
From 38 without loss, India had slipped to 42 for three, giving the opposition a glimmer of hope. Sarfaraz then came out in the middle and changed things completely. He had made his intentions clear before lunch itself and after play resumed, he simply went ballistic.
Regaining form after unsuccessful outings earlier in the tournament, shots flowed from Sarfaraz's bat as he hit the Bangladesh bowlers all round the ground. Almost all of them were clean hits as the opponents had no clue whatsoever as to how to counter Sarfaraz.
Together, Sarfaraz and captain Ricky Bhui shared an unbroken whirlwind 75-run stand as it took the hosts just 19 minutes after lunch to win.
