Musheer, Pandey shine in their teams 214 victory 

A clinical performance by India resulted in a massive 214 runs win over New Zealand in their first Super Six encounters of the ongoing ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024.

Put in to bat the reigning champions scored a mammoth 295 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs at the Mangaung Oval on Tuesday.  Top order batter Musheer Khan scored his second century in three outings, while his fellow opener Adarsh Singh registered his second fifty of the tournament, even as Mason Clarke dismissed previous match centurion Arshin Kulkarni cheaply in the fifth over.

The duo settled quickly thereafter and scored at a brisk pace forcing New Zealand into regular bowling changes in the hope of producing a breakthrough. Adarsh however fell to Zac Cumming, slicing a catch to backward point for 52, not before he had added 77 runs for the second wicket with Musheer .

Captain Uday Saharan and Musheer took over from there in another fine partnership as the latter grew in stature in the company of the solid skipper. The duo added 87 runs 0ff 113 balls together before Oliver Tewatiya sent back Saharan for 34.

Musheer’s innings was characterised by innovative and controlled strokeplay, and he completed his century with a single in the 43rd over, off 109 balls. The milestone allowed him to free his arms and he raced to 131 before Mason Clarke returned to dismiss him in the 48th over. India couldn’t find too many runs from the lower order as they finished on 295, the last 10 overs yielding 89 runs.

Clarke was impressive albeit expensive, returning figures of four for 62 from his eight overs.

India tasted early success as pacer Raj Limbani struck twice in his opening over of the innings to set the tone of the game. He first dismissed opener Tom Jones for a golden duck and later Snehith Reddy for a four-ball duck. Left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey who opened the attack from the other end, later weaved his magic and chipped in with a couple of wickets to reduce New Zealand to 22 for 4 inside eight overs of the first power play.

Captain Oscar Jackson (19) once again led New Zealand’s fightback, but his 38-ball stay at the crease was short lived, as he became one of spinner Musheer’s two victims shortly after Naman Tiwari had removed Oliver Tewatiya. The lower order added a few runs, but India, led again by Pandey with the ball,  as the Blackcaps folded for 81, their third lowest score in the history of the World Cup.

Indian skipper Uday Saharan was delighted with his team’s performance in the tournament, with three back-to-back 200-plus run victories and said “ I thought we executed our plans very well. Musheer was exceptional as usual and Raj [Limbani] bowled very well upfront. I don’t think I need to motivate the guys, we’re all in a good frame of mind.”

In the other Super Six matches Pakistan maintained their unbeaten streak with a hard fought win over a spirited Ireland side in Potchefstroom, edging over the line thanks to another impressive bowling display and heroics from their middle order in a Group 1 tie.

 In Kimberley, West Indies emerged victorious in a Group 2 game that swung back and forth. Sri Lanka’s bowlers took the game to the final over, but were unable to overturn another gritty fightback from the West Indies lineup.

Brief scores (Group 1 Super Six stage) :

India - 295 for 8 in 50 overs (Musheer Khan 131 (126b: 13x4s, 3x6s), Adarsh Singh 52 (58b: 6x4s), Uday Saharan 34 (57b: 2x4s); Mason Clarke 4/62, Ryan Tsourgas 1/28, Zac Cumming 1/37) beat New Zealand -  81 all out in 28.1 overs (Oscar Jackson 19 (38          b: 2x4s), Zac Cumming 16 (26b: 1x4), Alex Thompson 12 (27b: 1x4); Saumy Pandey 4/19, Musheer Khan 2/10, Raj Limbani 2/17) by 214 runs. Player of the Match: Musheer Khan (India).