Indian colts saunter into semis

Fatullah, February 6

It was a day of double delight for young Rishabh Pant. He guided the Indian colts into the semifinal of the ICC Under-19 World Cup with a crushing 197-run win over Namibia, besides fetching a Rs 1.9 crore IPL deal with Delhi Daredevils.

Left-handed Pant propelled India to 349/6 with a pulsating 111 off 96 balls. Anmolpreet Singh (41), Sarfaraz Khan (76) and Armaan Jaffer (64) also chipped in with useful contributions. Anmolpreet also picked up three wickets and alongside other spinners, Mayank Dagar (3/25) and Washington Sundar (2/27), plotted the downfall of Namibia, who folded up for 149 in 39 overs.

Namibia began the mammoth chase well with openers SJ Loftie-Eaton and Niko Davin taking the team past 50. But their challenge fizzled out soon after; from 59 for no loss, the team was tottering at 96/5.

The African side was expected to show more fight in the quarterfinals after it famously knocked out defending champions South Africa in the group stage. Pant’s fireworks were on display hours before he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 1.9 crore after a bidding war with the Mumbai Indians. Pant, who had smashed 78 off 24 balls in the last match, was unstoppable today as well. The Delhi-based wicketkeeper-batsman hammered 14 fours and a couple of sixes in his entertaining knock that laid the foundation for a big total.

Sarfaraz, too, continued with his rich vein of form with a run-a-ball 76. It was his third 70-plus score in the four games India have played in the tournament.

Brief scores: India 349/6 in 50 overs (Rishabh Pant 111, Sarfaraz Khan 76; Fritz Coetzee 3/78). Namibia 152 all out in 39 overs (Niko Davin 33; Mayank Dagar 3/25, Anmolpreet Singh 3/27). — PTI