OPINION
Follow UsIndia haven't lost a league-stage game in the Under-19 World Cup since losing to West Indies in their opening encounter of the 2012 edition. Since then, they have won all of their 18 group-stage matches and that tells you how dominant they have been in this tournament. The Boys in Blue once again entered this competition as red-hot favourites and started their campaign with a 45-run win over South Africa, despite not playing their best cricket.
Against South Africa, India’s formidable batting unit could only manage 232 runs but Vicky Ostwal and Raj Bawa dismantled the Protea batting, bundling them out for 187. India couldn’t really flex their muscles but they got the win that mattered. Their next two matches were against slightly weaker opponents Ireland and Uganda, but things got out of hand off the field when Covid managed to sneak into the Indian camp.
India only had 11 fit players for their game against Ireland after six of their players, including their regular skipper Yash Dhull and vice-captain Shaik Rasheed, were put in isolation. Apart from Dhull and Rasheed, close friends Aaradhya Yadav and Siddarth Yadav too tested positive for Covid, while Vasu Vats and Manav Parakh were asked to isolate as a precautionary measure after showing symptoms for the virus. India lost four frontline batters and had to manage with whatever resources they had in their arsenal.
Also read: Angkrish Raghuvanshi ready for the next big step
The opening combination of Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Harnoor Singh remained intact but India had to field six all-rounders and two seamers in their playing XI. Things would be extremely difficult if this was any other team but such is the bench strength of India that the absence of six players hardly made a difference as they hammered Ireland by 174 runs. Vats became available to play against Uganda and India annihilated them by 326 runs to once again finish the group stage unbeaten.
They will now come face to face against Bangladesh in the Super League Quarter-Final at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua on Saturday (January 29). India would be eager to avenge their three-wicket defeat in the grand finale of the 2020 Under-19 World Cup but Bangladesh could once again prove to be a tricky opposition for the four-time champions. Meanwhile, the defending champions lost to England in their first match of the tournament but got the better of Canada and the United Arab Emirates to make it through to the next round.
So, let’s look at how the Indian players performed in the league stage and also talk about India’s strengths and weaknesses (if there are any).
Strengths
India were short on resources but that hardly diminished their dominance as the gulf between them and their opponents was quite visible during the group stage. In the batting department, the Boys in Blue had the best scoring rate and the second-best average. With the ball in hand, India were head and shoulders above the rest. They had the best average and strike rate, and on top of that, the second-best economy rate after Bangladesh.
India were without Dhull, Rasheed, Aaradhya and Siddarth in their last two games but the likes of Raghuvanshi, Bawa, Harnoor and Rajvardhan Hangargekar stepped up and made sure India didn’t feel the absence of their key batters. Against Ireland, Raghuvanshi (79) and Harnoor (88) put on 164 runs for the opening wicket before Hangargekar flexed his muscles and smoked 39* off 17 to help India get past 300.
The team management still wanted their batters to score big hundreds and that’s exactly what they did against Uganda. Raghuvanshi (120-ball 144) and Bawa (108-ball 162*) smacked Uganda all around the park. India amassed 405/5 in their 50 overs. With Dhull and other batters set to return for the all-important clash against Bangladesh, India’s batting will become even more formidable and if they can keep playing to their potential, there is not a single team in the tournament that can challenge them.
As discussed above, India’s batting didn’t fire against South Africa and their bowlers had to come to the rescue. Hangargekar and Ravi Kumar have been superb with the new ball and have operated at an economy of close to 3.5. Meanwhile, spinners Ostwal, Aneeshwar Gautam, Nishant Sindhu and Kaushal Tambe too have been amongst wickets. The Boys in Blue have enough depth in both departments and Bangladesh will have to play out of their skin to topple India.
Weaknesses
It’s very difficult to pinpoint a weakness if you are talking about this Indian team. Their batters and bowlers have fired in all three phases of the game and haven’t allowed their opponents to dictate terms. South Africa restricted India to 232 but even that turned out to be more than enough. In fact, in the history of the Under-19 World Cup, India have lost only one of their 31 encounters in which they have scored more than 230.
India’s top-four batters have done most of the scoring in this tournament, so if Bangladesh can manage to pick early wickets, they can put pressure on the lower-middle order batters like Tambe and Dinesh Bana who haven’t got enough batting time. This is still a long stretch because India bat deep, but they are yet to chase in this tournament and if Bangladesh can manage to put up a decent total on the board, their strong bowling unit could put pressure on India.
Opportunities
Harnoor did score 88 against Ireland but hasn’t set the tournament on fire like his opening partner Raghuvanshi. The stylish left-hander from Punjab, who comes from a proper cricketing family, was dismissed for 1 against South Africa and could only manage 15 against Uganda. The 18-year-old has been a prolific run-scorer for his state and was also Player of the Series in the Asia Cup. Harnoor is used to scoring big hundreds, something that we haven't seen in this World Cup yet. The opener will be eager to stamp his authority in the knockout stage of the tournament.
Wicketkeeper-batter Bana is another player who didn’t get much opportunity to shine in the league stage. The 17-year-old generally bats down the order but has the potential to rip apart any bowling attack on his day and is particularly unstoppable against spinners. Bana operated at an average of 90 in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy but cemented his place in the Indian team when he clobbered 170 off 98 deliveries in one of the Challenger Trophy encounters. He might not get too many overs to bat but could still make an impact with fiery cameos, something that he is quite used to.
Threats
The Indian batters will have to be careful against Bangladesh's bowling unit, especially their spinners. All of their bowlers - Ashiqur Zaman (1.85), Ariful Islam (2.79), Ripon Mondol (3.29), Rakibul Hasan (3.34), Tanzim Hasan (3.5) and Meherob Hasan (3.7) have an economy of less than four. These were the exact set of bowlers who troubled most of the Indian batters in the tri-series prior to the Asia Cup.
