Bowlers steer India to victory

India Under-19 bowlers, led by left-arm seamer Kuldeep Yadav's 3 for 19, negated the impact of a batting collapse to set up to a 47-run victory over Australia Under-19s.

Having been put in to bat, India's innings was led by their wicketkeeper, Ankush Bains who celebrated his under-19 debut with a fifty that included five fours and a six. He shared an 82-run partnership for the second wicket with Vijay Zol, who fell four runs short of his half-century. India, however, squandered the good start by losing seven wickets in the last ten overs, going from 180 for 3 to 221 all out. The Australia bowlers, Cameron Valente and debutant Gabe Bell took three wickets apiece.

Australia's chase was hampered early on by the loss of Tom Leaver in the second over. Matthew Short, along with No. 3 Damien Mortimer, ensured the side did not lose another early wicket, but the opener failed to capitalise on his second start in as many matches. Wicketkeeper Ben McDermott took control with a measured half-century, which included four fours.

With six wickets and 103 balls in hand to get 93 runs, Yadav struck a crucial blow removing Australia captain, Jake Doran. Two overs later, Zol ran out McDermott to leave Australia at 162 for 6. Australia added only 12 runs to their score before Chama Milind had Matthew Fotia caught behind to give India a 47-run win.

McDermott was disappointed with the loss. "We batted really well in our first game [against New Zealand] on this wicket when we scored 226 and thought we could chase India's score down," said McDermott. "We thought it was very gettable but it got away from us and we were a bit below par with the bat today."