Pant ton fires India into semi-finals

Under-19 World Cup 2016

DHAKA: Rishabh Pant continued his fine run of form in the Under-19 World Cup, slamming his third successive fifty-plus score to guide India into the semi-finals following a 197-run win against Namibia here on Saturday.

Pant, who had blasted the fastest U-19 international half-century during the win against Nepal, scored 111 off 96 balls with 14 fours and two sixes, powering his team to a mammoth 349 for 6.

India, opting to bat, did not make the best of starts, though, as the captain Ishan Kishan was dismissed for 6 in the third over. However, Pant and Anmolpreet Singh led a recovery, put up 103 runs for the second wicket. Pant added a further 62 for the third wicket with Sarfaraz Khan before falling in the 29th over. Still, Namibia failed to dry up the runs, as Sarfaraz (76), Armaan Jaffer (64) and Mahipal Lomror (41*) all chipped in with handy knocks to lift the team past the 300-run mark.

Fritz Coetzee was the pick of Namibia’s bowlers, taking 3 for 78, but went at more than seven an over, as did four other players.

Namibia began their huge run-chase promisingly, as the openers SJ Loftie-Eaton and Niko Davin razed 59 inside 10 overs. However, the dismissal of Davin opened the floodgates, as the team went on to lose wickets at regular intervals, eventually getting bowled out for 152.

Left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar shone with figures of 3 for 25, while Anmolpreet snared 3 for 27; Namibia were dismissed in 39 overs.