da 888： India Under-19s bowled out Papua New Guinea Under-19 to claim a 195-run win at the Kinrara Oval
The Bulletin by George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur17-Feb-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Tanmay Srivastava held India’s innings together with a fine 83 © Getty Images
India Under-19s’ victory against their counterparts from Papua New Guinea may not have been as emphatic as the other three matches on the opening day of the World Cup but their performance was efficient, steady, if notspectacular, and thoroughly satisfactory.Their batsmen paced the innings sensibly after being put in. The openers- Shreevats Goswami and Taruwar Kohli, laid a strong foundation with apartnership of 100, the middle-order maintained a steady run-rate, keepingrisks to a minimum in order to preserve wickets for the final overs andTanmay Srivatsava provided the acceleration towards the end to spur Indiatoward 280 for 5. They did not decimate the bowling like Michael Hill didagainst Namibia but all of the top-order batsmen spent considerable timein the middle.The bowlers, too, did not scythe through Papua New Guinea like Adil Raza’sred-hot attack against Malaysia but they were disciplined and rarelystrayed off line. The Papua New Guinea batsmen like to hit across the lineand the rarity of such shots was an indication of the lengths bowled bythe Indians. All the bowlers had a work out and apart from Ravindra Jadejaand Taruwar, who went for 11 off two overs of medium-pace, everyone pickedup wickets. Pradeep Sangwan was the pick of the lot, striking twice earlyin his first spell while Abdulla scalped 3 for 2 off three overs towardsthe end as Papua New Guinea folded for 85.”We wanted to play as well as we can early in the game, withoutunderestimating the opposition,” Dav Whatmore, India’s coach, said. “We felt that if we didthat well, the margin would be big at the end of the game.”The margin of victory was huge – 195 runs – and it was built onperformances by players who made people take notice during the 2007-08Ranji Trophy and on the U-19 circuit. Srivatsava scored his maidenfirst-class hundred in the Ranji final against Delhi and made 466 runs inthe season, Virat Kohli scored 373 at an average of 53 while Sangwan took33 wickets at 19.42 apiece. Goswami, hasn’t played first-class cricket yetbut he’s been among the runs on the U-19 tour to South Africa.Goswami played his drives fluently, getting to the pitch of fulldeliveries and placing them through the covers with more timing than power. Hegot to his half-century, his second in Malaysia after scoring 91 in thewarm-up against New Zealand, with a cover-drive against ColinAmini’s offspin. However, he suffered a bout of cramps soon after – thehot and humid weather in Kuala Lumpur is energy sapping – and was dismissedfor 58.India had lost both their openers in the space of five overs and Virat andSrivatsava continued to build the momentum steadily rather than playingattacking shots. Whatmore said that Srivatsava’s role at No 3 was vital.”He just reassures everyone and adds calmness because we’ve got somereally good strikers like Virat. Tanmay is able to bat long and involvehimself in partnerships.”Srivatsava displayed patience as he started slowly, scoring 21 off hisfirst 40 deliveries. However, as India entered the 40th over he began tostep on it. The Kinrara Oval is a large ground but he muscled three largesixes over the leg side – one each over square leg, midwicket and long-on- to finish with 83 off 76 deliveries.Sangwan’s radar went missing for his first ball, which went forfive wides, but he made up by pitching his fourth ball bang on target andtrapping Heini Saika plumb in front. He made the ball move away from theright-handers and brought the odd one back in to trap the batsman – it washow he got his second wicket as well.A 195-run victory indicates a massive thrashing but Papua New Guinea didcreditably in the field. Their ground fielding was sharp, their catchingsafe – apart from one drop in the 49th over – and their bowling, leavingaside the tendency to bowl wides, was satisfactory. Jason Kila was thepick of them, taking 1 for 37 off ten overs of restrictive left-arm spin,while Joel Tom bowled a tight line and length at medium-pace and concededonly 16 off six overs. Whatmore said that he had been impressed by their”defensive game” on the field.It was Papua New Guinea’s batting that disappointed but the collapsewasn’t entirely unexpected. Today’s game was the first time that most ofthem were playing on turf and their inexperienced showed. Several batsmenplayed down the wrong line, John Reva edged one that bounced sharply onhim from Siddarth Kaul, and most of the lower-middle order lost theirstumps as they tried hit across the line.Papua New Guinea have two more tough gamesagainst West Indies and South Africa. For them, the tournament is allabout learning and an improved performance in the last two group matcheswill be a tremendous source of encouragement.