India warm-up for Under-19 World Cup by winning Asia Cup
India's Under-19 cricket team on Friday ended 2021 on a memorable note by winning the ninth edition of the Asia Cup. India defeated Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the summit clash, which was marred by rain, in Dubai. The spin duo of Vicky Ostwal and Kaushal Tambe starred with the ball for India while opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi was pick of the batters.
Why does it matter?
It was India's record ninth title in the Under-19 Asia Cup. With this win, India maintained their dominance in the tournament. The Asia Cup gave India's young brigade a perfect opportunity to prepare for the 2022 Under-19 World Cup. The marquee event will kick off in two weeks in West Indies. India will kick-off their campaign against South Africa on January 15 in Guyana.
India restrict Sri Lanka to 106
Fielding first, India suffocated Sri Lanka to leave them reeling at 74/7 in 33 overs before rain played spoilsport. The match was reduced to 38-over-a-side due to the rain interruption. India continued their impressive performance post-rain by restricting Sri Lanka to 106/9. Ostwal picked three wickets and conceded 11 runs while Tambe chipped in with two wickets and gave away 23 runs.
How India's innings panned out?
India were given 102 runs target in 32 overs via Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. India chased down the target with utmost ease in 21.3 overs and nine wickets to spare. India lost just one wicket in form of Harnoor Singh (5) in their fifth over. After that, Shaik Rasheed (56*) and Raghuvanshi (31*) guided India to a comfortable win without any further hiccups.
India's journey in the tournament
India started the tournament with a 154-run victory over the United Arab Emirates. In their next game, they were humbled by Pakistan by two wickets. India returned to winning ways by defeating Afghanistan in their third group game. India hammered Bangladesh by 103 runs in the second semi-final. And, they bested Sri Lanka in the final to take the trophy home.
