Prithvi Shaw and his boys will take on Zimbabwe in India’s last group stage match in the ongoing Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. India, who have already qualified for the knockout stage, have registered convincing wins in their first two group matches against Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Indian skipper Prithvi Shaw has been the wrecker-in-chief for the side, scoring a 94 and an unbeaten 57 against Australia and Papua New Guinea respectively
Apart from him, opener Manjot Kalra also did well with the bat in India’s inaugural game against Australia, scoring 87.
Indian bowlers too did a splendid job in both the matches. Fast bowlers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi turned few heads due to the pace they generated while bowling. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly even tweeted about both the bowlers.
In the first match against Australia, the pacers did the job for India. Spinner Anukul Roy picked up career best 5/14 in the next match against Papua New Guinea to completely demolish their batting line up.
Ahead of the Zimbabwe tie, India, who will most likely field an unchanged side, look formidable. Both the batting and bowling departments have clicked for the three-times Under-19 World Champions. If there is a cause of concern for the Indian team, it has to be their fielding and catching. The ‘Boys in Blue’ are guilty of dropping many catches not only against Australia but also against Papua New Guinea.
Head coach Rahul Dravid, who himself had a very safe pair of hands, will surely look in to the problem before the team reaches the deep end of the tournament.
India, who are one of the favourites to win tournament, is most likely to meet Bangladesh or England in the Super League stage of the event.
Previously, India have won the Under-19 World Cup thrice in 2000, 2008 and 2014. Current Indian captain Virat Kohli was the captain of the side that won the trophy way back in 2008.
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