India U-19 dominated Uganda, whereas Pakistan hammered Papua New Guinea on January 22. Both teams finished their respective group stage campaigns in the ICC U19 World Cup with three wins apiece.
In Group B, India ruthlessly feasted on an inexperienced Uganda side, defeating them by a whopping 326-run margin after posting a gigantic 405/5 in their 50 overs. Batting first, the Indians recorded one of the highest scores ever made in all 50-overs cricket.
This, thanks largely to the massive hundreds recorded by opening batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi (144) and middle-order player Raj Bawa (162*). The duo simply dominated their way through against Uganda, scoring a total of 36 fours and 12 sixes between them.
Raj Bawa reaching 150 with a cracking shot is voted the @Nissan #POTD from the #U19CWC clash between India and Uganda 💥 pic.twitter.com/567zwmNKG2
— ICC (@ICC) January 23, 2022
It was a complete carnage of boundaries, as Uganda’s hapless attack could never bring a sense of calm and leash to the run-scoring. All of their bowlers, including their top wicket-taker Pascal Murungi (3/72), were smashed to all parts of the ground. In the end, Christopher Kidega’s 1/48 off eight overs was the most miserly spell.
The second half saw Indians continue their domination, having virtually sealed the contest at the halfway mark only. With Rajvardhan Hangargekar (2/8) and Nishant Sindhu (4/19) amongst the wickets, they bundled out Uganda for just 79, including a lone fighting act by their skipper Murungi, who made 34.
In Group C, Pakistan defeated Papua New Guinea by nine wickets after dismissing for just 50 runs in the first half. Muhammad Shehzad (5/7) and Ahmed Khan (3/10) made it a no-contest for Pakistan against PNG, whose embarrassing scorecard had only one batter making a double-digit score.
Later, Abbas Ali (27*) and Haseebullah Khan (18*) steered Pakistan’s ship through to the winning post after the early loss of opener Shehzad, who was dismissed for zero by Junior Morea (1/12).
Pakistan will be facing Australia in Super League Quarterfinal 3 on January 28. India will take on Bangladesh in Super League Quarterfinal 4 on January 29.
In other U-19 World Cup matches played on Saturday, defending champions Bangladesh triumphed over the United Arabic Emirates by nine wickets in a rain-affected fixture, while Afghanistan powered their way to a 24-run win against Zimbabwe.
