Prithvi Shaw & Co. warmed up for the main event of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in style by dismantling South Africa by 189 runs in their first warm-up game on Tuesday (January 9) in Christchurch.
With only one of the four teams managing to win a game while batting second on the first day of warm-up games, Shaw did not have any hesitation in batting first when toss went India’s way. The decision, however, initially looked a bad one as the Indian colts seemed to have lost their way after losing some quick wickets.
Shaw and Manjot Kalra started the proceedings on an explosive note, adding 12 runs in the very first over before being tied down. They eventually added 54 runs off 10.4 overs before Shaw was sent back by Akhona Mnyaka for a 30-ball 16 runs. Two balls later, Shubman Gill was trapped in front of the wickets by Akhona Mnyaka for a duck. Mnyaka was not done yet as he went on dismiss Kalra too seven runs later to reduce India to 61 for 3.
But South Africa’s hopes of making further inroads in the game were crushed by Himanshu Rana and Aryan Juyal as they struck fine fifties to not only steady the ship but also lay the foundation for a big total. The duo added 138 runs before Nadine de Klerk broke the stand by dismissing Rana for 68. Kenan Smith denied Juyal a well-deserved century but his 86-run knock had given the lower-order batsmen the right platform to go all out, and they grabbed it with both hands.
Abhishek Sharma (35 off 19), Anukul Roy (28 off 21) and Kamlesh Nagarkoti (26 off 17) played quickfire knocks, propelling India to a massive 322 for 8 in the allotted 50 overs.
In reply, South Africa never looked in contention to chase down the total and were eventually all out for 143 in the 39th over. Bengal pacer Ishan Porel starred with the ball, finishing with four wickets for 24 runs in his eight overs. Jean du Plessis top-scored for South Africa, scoring 50 while Jiveshan Pillay scored 29.
Brief scores:
India 322 for 8 ( Juyal 86, Rana 68, Mnyaka 3-40) beat South Africa ( du Plessis 50, Pillay, Porel 4-24) by 189 runs.