Coached by legendary Rahul Dravid and led by Ishan Kishan, India U-19 are the tournament favourites and will aim to seal the quarterfinal berth from this group against the Kiwis, who were stunned by minnows Nepal in their opening fixture on Thursday.
Riding high on confidence from their comfortable victory against Ireland, India Under-19 will take on New Zealand U-19 in their second Group D match at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday.
Coached by legendary Rahul Dravid and led by Ishan Kishan, India U-19 are the tournament favourites and will aim to seal the quarterfinal berth from this group against the Kiwis, who were stunned by minnows Nepal in their opening fixture on Thursday.
Following their 32-run loss to Nepal, New Zealand will not only have to beat India U-19 but also hope that Ireland Under-19 gets the better of Nepal. That scenario doesn't assure it of any progress, but at least puts them in a better position than they are in currently.
Meanwhile, India U-19 will not be worrying about what their opposition will be upto as they have covered all their bases right. Should the top-order fail, Sarfaraz Khan and Washington Sundar are there to provide the impetus. They are livewire on the field as was seen against Ireland when Ricky Bhui, Ishan Kishan and Armaan Jaffer excelled.
The bowling department is strong with the variations one can think of. Left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed, right-arm seamer Avesh Khan, a third seamer Rahul Batham, offspinner Sundar, leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari, left-arm spinner Mahipal Lomror and a part-time spinner Sarfaraz complete the pack.
While New Zealand had a full-fledged nets session at the Bangladesh Cricket Board's Academy Ground before the marquee clash to iron out the chinks in its armour, India took its mind off the game.
The Indians' energy in the team lobby was infectious. Sarfaraz, headphones plugged on, took the mickey out of his mates. Bhui, like his studied batting, was engrossed taking selfies. Avesh and Khaleel requested a scribe to take their picture, and Sundar was busy searching for a backdrop that would make him look good in the camera. Jaffer was in a humorous mood, while Lomror and Ansari were dressed in their best outfits to go out for a team lunch.
Second straight win for England
Meanwhile, England U-19 on Friday posted a 61-run win over a fighting West Indies to inch closer to booking a quarterfinal berth. This was England's second successive win in Group C.
Electing to bat, England made 282 for seven from 50 overs and then bundled out West Indies for 221 in 43.4 overs. England now need a point in their last match against Zimbabwe on Sunday to finish as group leader, while the West Indies need to win both their remaining games convincingly to march into the Super League stage.
BRIEF SCORES
Group C: England U-19 282/7 (C Taylor 59, D Lawrence 55) bt West Indies U-19 221 in 43.4 overs (G Pope 60, K Paul 65; S Mahmood 4/42) by 61 runs
Fiji U-19 81 in 27.4 overs (W Madhevere 5/24, B Mavuta 3/13) lost to Zimbabwe U-19 84/3 in 18.5 overs (B Sly 29, J Ives 23) by 7 wickets
Group A: Scotland U-19 159 in 36.3 overs (O Shah 39, H Aslam 31; M Lingen 3/19, S Eaton 2/13, C Brits 2/36) lost to Namibia U-19 162/1 in 26 overs (S Eaton 67*, N Davin 52, Z Green 39*) by 9 wickets
PLAYING TODAY
Group B: Afghanistan U-19 vs Sri Lanka U-19, Canada U-19 vs Pakistan U-19 (both in Sylhet)
Group D: India U-19 vs New Zealand U-19 (Live on Star Sports 1 at 8 am), Ireland U-19 vs Nepal U-19 in Fatullah
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