The young Indian stars are on the verge of reaching the semifinals of the U19 World Cup 2023 as they are still unbeaten in the tournament so far. The India U19 team has won each of its previous four matches and is set to face Nepal U19 in its last match of the Super Six stage at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein.
The defending champions mauled New Zealand U19 in their first match of the Super Six stage earlier this week on January 30. A Musheer Khan century followed by a bowling masterclass from Saumy Pandey, blew the Kiwis away to help the Uday Saharan-led team clinch the game by 214 runs. Sarafaraz Khan's brother Musheer Khan struck a 126-ball 131 to power the Men in Blue to 295 before Pandey took 4/19 in his 10 overs to bowl the Kiwis out for just 81. They hope to end the Super Six now with a win and a confirmed ticket to the semis in Bloemfontein.
Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein pitch report
The surface at the Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein offers assistance for both - the willow holders and also to the bowlers. The venue has hosted multiple matches till now, which means the spinners can come into play as well. Out of the eight matches played at the venue in the tournament, teams batting first have won five matches, in comparison to the teams chasing emerging out victorious three times. India have played all their matches here only and have won all four batting first.
Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein - The Numbers Game
STATS - ODI
Total Matches - 35
Matches won batting first - 15
Matches won bowling first - 18
Average 1st innings Score - 248
Average 2nd innings Score - 205
Highest total recorded - 399/9 (50 Ovs) By ENG vs RSA
Lowest total recorded - 78/10 (24 Ovs) By ZIM vs RSA
Highest score chased - 347/5 (49.1 Ovs) By RSA vs ENG
Lowest score defended - 203/6 (50 Ovs) By AUS vs RSA
Team squads:
India U19 Squad: Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Musheer Khan, Uday Saharan(c), Aravelly Avanish(w), Priyanshu Moliya, Sachin Dhas, Murugan Abhishek, Naman Tiwari, Raj Limbani, Saumy Pandey, Ansh Gosai, Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Rudra Patel, Prem Devkar, Mohamed Amaan, Innesh Mahajan
Nepal U19 Squad: Arjun Kumal, Bipin Rawal(w), Aakash Tripathi, Dev Khanal(c), Bishal Bikram KC, Gulsan Jha, Deepak Bohara, Dipesh Kandel, Subash Bhandari, Aakash Chand, Durgesh Gupta, Tilak Bhandari, Hemant Dhami, Uttam Thapa Magar, Dipak Bohara, Deepak Dumr
