India started their Under-19 Asia Cup on a winning note with a massive 154-win over United Arab Emirates at ICC Academy Ground, Dubai. Indian opener Harnoor Singh turned out to be the star of the show as he scored 120 after UAE skipper Alishan Sharafu won the toss and elected to bowl first. Chasing a 283-run target, UAE batting crumbled and were bundled out in the 35th over.
Batting first, India got off to a disappointing start as opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi (2) was dismissed in the third over. However, his partner at the other end Harnoor stitched partnerships with Shaik Rasheed and skipper Yash Dhull to lay a foundation for fighting total.
The Jalandhar-born batter was well supported by Rasheed (35 off 60) and skipper Dhull (63 off 68). Harnoor and Rasheed put together a second-wicket stand of 90 runs while Harnoor and Dhull combined for a third-wicket stand of 120 runs. After Harnoor's departure in the 44th over, Rajvardhan Hangargekar came up with a cameo of 48 off 23 deliveries. Hangargekar smashed six fours and two sixes to take India to a commendable total of 282/5 in 50 overs. UAE skipper used as many as nine bowlers in the match but only two turned out to be successful in wickets.
UAE’s response though was far from impressive as they crumbled to a dominating Indian bowling attack. Hangargekar was again in action as he picked three wickets for 24 runs to break the back of the UAE batting lineup. Despite a decent start, UAE couldn’t consolidate and went from 88/2 to 128 all out, losing eight wickets for just 40 runs. Garv Sangwan and Kaushal Tambe also bagged a couple of wickets to start the campaign on a high.
In the other encounter, Pakistan defeat Afghanistan by four wickets. Pakistan struggled to chase a mere score of 53 as they lost six wickets. The low-scoring encounter saw only one Afghanistan batter score in double figures. The third encounter played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium saw Sri Lanka earn the spoils as they defeated minnows Kuwait by a staggering 274 runs. The teams will next be in action in two days' time as traditional rivals India and Pakistan will go head-to-head in a crunch battle in Dubai on December 25.
