ACC U19 Asia Cup Semifinal 1 Review: Himanshu Rana century guides India to final

Himanshu Rana went on to smash a valiant 130 as the Indians cruised into the final of the ACC U19 Asia Cup final. The Indians faced Associate Nation Afghanistan in what was the first semi-final and secured an impressive run win. They will await the winner of the second semi-final between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh whom they will face in the final once again at the R Premadasa Stadium.

As they have done for the most part of the ACC U19 series, Prithvi Shaw and Himanshu Rana made their way out to open the batting for the Indians. Playing on a rather difficult deck to bat on in the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the two openers got the Indians off to a good and solid start. Initially, it was Prithvi who seemed to be more eager of the two to step his foot on the gas. This, however, came at a price when Shaw would lose his wicket a moment prior to the conclusion of the first powerplay.

The wicket, while providing a much-needed breakthrough for the Afghans began to prove to be a thorn, one not really on the side of the Indians, to say the least. While Rana continued on his merry way, the figure of Shubham Gill proved to be a bit too much for the Afghanistan as he went on to score 45 runs. These 45 runs from the bat of Gill was something impressive as he played second fiddle to the innings 130 of Rana.

Skipper Abhishek Sharma went on to score 31 which was certainly impressive as he looked as solid as ever. However, a rush of blood ensured that he would become one of five scalps for Naveen-ul-Haq. While Naveen picked up an impressive five-wicket haul, the fact that he conceded 80 runs, most of the wicket that came in the final 10 overs wherein the Indians made futile attempts to go for the kill.

They were bowled out for 294 without having batted the entire 50 overs with most of the wickets falling in the final five overs and five deliveries in the innings to spare.

The India pacers began with a bang as Naveed Obaid and Darwish Rasooli were dismissed within the first 10 overs. The wickets began to tumble in spite of the partnership struck between Ibrahim Zadran (33) and Tariq Stanikzai (11) before Nisar Wahdat and Shamsurrahman began to play the fightback with 75 and 49 respectively. At the end, it seemed to be a bridge too far for the Afghans as the Indians progressed to the final.

Brief Scores: 

India: 294 all out in 49.1 overs (H Rana 130; Naveen-ul-Haq 5/80)

Afghanistan: 217/7 in 50 overs (N Wahdat 75; R Chahar 2/33)