India beat Ireland by 79 runs to make winning start in ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup

The Indian cricket team on Thursday made a winning start to their campaign in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016, when they defeated Ireland by 79 runs in the Group B match at Dhaka. After setting a daunting target of 269 to win, India Under-19 cricket team produced a strong performance to bowl out Ireland for mere 189, thus registering a big win first up in the tournament. The match was played at the Shere-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, which is among the eight venues across four cities in Bangladesh where the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 is being played. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Ireland, ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016, Group D match at Dhaka

It was Ireland who won the toss and elected to field. Ireland thought of using the favourable conditions for their bowlers, and the idea was right. India were left tottering at 48 for 3 after 13.3 overs. India captain Ishan Kishan was the first to be dismissed as he was removed by Ireland bowler Joshua Little for a duck.

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India slipped further when their star batsman Arman Jaffer fell for four, which reduced India to 55 for 4. It was a 110-run stand for the fifth wicket between Sarfaraz Khan and Washington Sunder that brought India back into the match. Sarfaraz scored 74 off 70 balls with seven boundaries, whereas Sunder struck three boundaries to score 62 off 71 balls.

India recovered well to post a big total, and when Ireland came out to bat, they lost their openers quickly. Jack Tector and Stephen Doheny were run out for 1 and 4 respectively, and Ireland just like India, were struggling at 46 for 4 when Lorcan Tucker and William McClintock teamed up to add 113 runs for the fifth wicket to bring Ireland back on track.

Ireland were going strong till the partnership of fifth wicket was not broken. Once McClintock was dismissed by Zeeshan Ansari, it was all over for Ireland. The fifth wicket fell at the team total of 159 and within additional 30 runs they were bowled out. Rahul Batham was the most successful bowler for India as he returned with the figures of 8-1-15-3. Avesh Khan and Mahipal Lomror claimed two wickets each.

Brief scores:

India Under-19 268 for 9 in 50 overs (Ricky Bhui 39, Sarfaraz Khan 74, Washington Sundar 62, Zeeshan Ansari 36; Rory Anders 3 for 35) beat Ireland Under-19 189 in 49.1 overs (Lorcan Tucker 57, William McClintock 58; Rahul Batham 3 for 15, Avesh Khan 2 for 24, Mahipal Lomror 2 for 28) by 79 runs.

Man of the Match: Sarfaraz Khan

CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Ireland, ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016, Group D match at Dhaka