Sarfaraz Khan’s 74 takes India to 258-8 against New Zealand in ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016

India Under 19 put up a total of 258 for 8 against New Zealand Under 19 as Sarfaraz Khan scores a much needed knock of 74 off 80 balls in the 10th match of ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 at Mirpur. India earlier defeated Ireland in the tournament in their first match while New Zealand faced an upset losing their first game to Nepal. A victory is what the New Zealand side badly need and that intension was evident from the body-language of the New Zealand bowlers as they bowled brilliantly while Indian middle-order saved the side from posting a low target. LIVE CRICKET SCORES & UPDATES: India vs New Zealand, ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Match 10 at Dhaka

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first. India got a trembling start as they lost their a few wickets in their initial overs. India took a lot of time to settle down and then lost their first wicket as their skipper Ishan Kishan departed making 4 off 13. Next in, Ricky Bhui followed Kishan shortly scoring a solitary run. India got their first major partnership as Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan played sensible cricket. The partnership added 89 runs, as Pant scored 57 off 83. He hit 7 fours and 2 sixes in the process, some shots really proving his class. The fact that the innings came in a pressure situation added more positives to it. Sarfaraz Khan remained the highest scorer of the side, scoring a 80-ball 74. Sarfaraz had scored the same amount of runs in the previous match as well. Sarfaraz also played some classic shots, including a switch-hit. The partnership was broken by Dale Phillips.

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Armaan Jaffer then took on the command and went on to play a much needed innings that too India’s score further to cross the benchmark of 200. Jaffer missed on his half-century, departing for 46 off 49. An important innings was played down the order by Mahipal Lomror. He was seen in his usual form, adding those few important last moment runs as he scored 45 off 42, with the help pf 3 fours and a six.

New Zealand bowlers did exceptionally well with the ball. The top-order batsmen never looked comfortable in front of the Nathan Smith and other bowlers. Smith bagged two important wickets while Zak Gibson got two. Christian Leopard maintained a good economy of 3.70 bowling two maiden overs. While Rachin Ravindra got two, Dale Phillips bagged one wicket.

Brief scores:

India Under-19 258 for 8 in 50 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 74, Rishabh Pant 57; Zak Gibson 3 for 50) vs New Zealand Under-19

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)