ICC Under-19 World Cup 2010 in NZ : An eye on India

[Sooda]

Thats a good read. Hope they can keep it going, and not let the hype get to their heads. Its alot of fame too soon. For every Ishant who was a promising U19 bowlers and now established intl, there are guys like Yo Mahesh and Sangwan, who we expected more from by now. And then guys like RPS and Irfan who started so well but faded.

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U-19 India's preparation before matches in NZ : Huddle, the recipe for success Every time an Indian bowler picked up a wicket, the team came together, charging in from different parts of the ground, and sometimes even the reserve players joined in, carrying water. More... Huddle, the recipe for success Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times Christchurch, January 17, 2010 Every time an Indian bowler picked up a wicket, the team came together, charging in from different parts of the ground, and sometimes even the reserve players joined in, carrying water. A quick huddle was followed by a rousing “Come on India!” cry that sounded especially loud in the quiet surrounds of Christchurch's idyllic alternate cricket grounds. This practice of having on-field huddles began in Australia last year, and is now becoming a talked-about feature of their success in New Zealand. “It boosts our energy levels. When you hear the word India shouted out, each player feels he has to do something for his country,” said Ashok Meenaria, the captain. The team has decided that they will use the huddle and the cry at key moments — when they first step onto the ground, when a wicket falls, when they finish an innings or a session well. Beginning the tournament with a strong win, even if the opposition was only Afghanistan, was important. The top order batsmen all looked relaxed and confident and the bowling attack is peaking appropriately. The team realises this is an important campaign and barely stopped to celebrate their first win in a World Cup match. “Our main job here in New Zealand is to win, so there's nothing special to celebrate,” said Meenaria. The Indian team is different from many others in the fray. The attitude of the players is professional and serious and enjoyment comes from besting the opposition. But in their second match, against Hong Kong, India’s challenge may be overcoming the conditions. The game is at a ground set in the middle of Hagley Park, a 407-acre green lung in the heart of Christchurch. The rolling greens and natural woodland are beautiful, but as the eye is soothed other senses will be challenged as the cold winds from the deep south drive through the plains. India’s youngsters have worked hard on getting used to these conditions, and subtle changes are in order. The captain has to ensure the appropriate bowler is operating with and against the wind. Fielders have to stay alert as the ball might swirl about during high catches. Last year, when the Indian senior team was in Christchurch, they had to put in extra sessions at open nets in the Lincoln University campus to counter the wind factor. “The ball holds in the wind a little bit and from a batting perspective you need to hold your shape for a bit longer,” explained coach Gary Kirsten. India’s juniors haven't articulated their plans so carefully, but the way they're shaping up, opposition players better get used to hearing the cry “come on India!”

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U-19 WC : India brush aside Hong Kong India continued their good form defeating Hong Kong by nine-wickets to remain on top in their Group A in Christchurch. More... Sunday 17th January 2010 India brush aside Hong Kong India continued their good form defeating Hong Kong by nine-wickets to remain on top in their Group A in Christchurch. Defending champions India continued their rampaging form and hammered Hong Kong by nine wickets in their rain-truncated second Group A match of the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup on Sunday. Opting to bowl in the 34-overs-a-side match, India first skittled out Hong Kong for 143 before getting to the target with 10 overs to spare. Indian openers Mayank Agarwal (63) and Rahul Kannaur (62 not out) hit twin half-centuries to fashion their second successive win. Man-of-the-Match medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma ripped through Hong Kong's top order with his miserly seven overs during which he scalped three wickets for just 11 runs. Poor running between the wickets also proved to be Hong Kong's bane as they lost three of their batsmen to run-outs. Hong Kong started disastrously after India captain Ashok Menaria had put them in, losing opener Alex Smith who had not even faced a single delivery when he was run out by Mandeep Singh. Wickets continued to tumble and Hong Kong were reeling at 19 for four by the ninth over. Sandeep used the overhead conditions effectively, getting a number of deliveries to fizz past the outside edge of the rival bats. Hong Kong made a brief comeback with a strong fifth wicket partnership of 54 between 15-year-old Mark Chapman (27) and Jamie Atkinson, who produced a stoic captain's knock of 39. A 12-ball 23 came from Aizaz Khan towards the end of the innings but 143 was never going to be enough against the defending champions. For India, Agarwal and Kannaur went about the task, posting their 50 in just 30 minutes with some exquisite hits to the boundary. The partnership ended in the 19th over with the score on 119, when Irfan Ahmed had Agarwal caught at gully with a bouncer that took the Indian by surprise. But that was the only success for Hong Kong as India romped rather easily. The unbeaten Indians will next play England in Lincoln on January 21.

[Lord]

:congrats::congrats::congrats:

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Showers stoke India’s intensity In a spell that would have troubled senior international batsmen, man-of-the-match, Sandeep sucked the breath out of Hong Kong, reports Anand Vasu. More...

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U-19 action heats up With three days of group play completed at the Under-19 cricket World Cup in Christchurch, all teams in the tournament have had at least one outing with bat and ball. India have gone clear at the top of Group A, but England can... More... Cricket: U-19 action heats up 10:00 AM Monday Jan 18, 2010 Harry Boam (L) and Jimmy Neesham of New Zealand batting during the U-19 World Cup match between New Zealand and Canada at Lincoln. Photo / Getty Images With three days of group play completed at the Under-19 cricket World Cup in Christchurch, all teams in the tournament have had at least one outing with bat and ball. India have gone clear at the top of Group A, but England can match them today with a win in their match against first-time qualifier Afghanistan at QEII Park. In Group B, South Africa will be hoping for two points to catch up with Australia at the top of the table. They play USA, who showed some positive signs in their match against the much-vaunted Australians on the weekend. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are equal on two points from one match in Group C, with the host nation ahead on net run rate. New Zealand opened their tournament with a convincing 9 wicket win over Canada on Saturday. The Kiwis' next match is against Zimbabwe tomorrow. In Group D, Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies are all equal on two points apiece, but Pakistan has a game in hand. * In addition to host city Christchurch, tournament organisers are using Queenstown, Napier and Palmerston North as match venues. Photos Cricket: U19 World Cup in NZ (11 pics)

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U-19 WC : England cruise into quarter-finals England booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup after another commanding nine-wicket win - this time over lowly Afghanistan. More... England cruise into quarter-finals 18 January 2010 England booked a place in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup after another commanding nine-wicket win - this time over lowly Afghanistan in Christchurch. Spinner Danny Briggs earned man of the match honours after returning figures of 3 for 15 as England skittled out their opponents for just 126. He was well supported by Leicestershire’s Nathan Buck (3/18) and skipper Azeem Rafiq (2/29) before opener Chris Dent recorded an unbeaten half-century to see England home in style. England won the toss and put Afghanistan in to bat and it was not long before the pace of Buck proved too much for Afghanistan’s top order. Buck claimed the first three wickets of the match with Javed Ahmadi, Shir Shirzai and Noor Ul Haq all failing to sharp catches as Afghanistan slumped to 10 for 3 after eight overs. After a menacing start with the ball Buck then featured in England's fourth wicket, taking a neat catch to dismiss Anwar Anwari off the bowling of Ben Stokes to break up a 41 run stand. Rafiq then stepped in to claim the next two Afghan wickets, the first being that of Hashmatullah Shaidi, the talented 15-year-old batsman adjudged LBW after scoring a promising 41. New batsman Zakiullah Zaki lasted just four deliveries before being cleverly stumped by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler off the bowling of Rafiq. With Afghanistan reeling at 79 for six it was the spin of Briggs that dismantled the Afghan lower order, the off-spinner taking the next three wickets before having a hand in running out the final batsman in the 48th over. England's openers wasted no time in setting after the target of 127 for victory with both Yorkshire's Joe Root and Gloucestershire's Dent scoring freely. England suffered a setback when Root was dismissed for 25 after being caught in the gully off the bowling of Ayub Khan. Hampshire's James Vince continued on from his man-of-the-match performance against Hong Kong by scoring at a run a ball and helping England reach 100 from 127 deliveries. Dent reached his 50 from 64 balls and Vince finished on 47 not out as England convincingly reached Afghanistan's total in the 26th over. England's next match on Thursday is against India, the second team to qualify from their group.

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Proteas thrash listless USA The USA continued to feel the heat in the ICC U19 World Cup, going down to South Africa by eight wickets. More... Proteas thrash listless USA The USA continued to feel the heat in the ICC U19 World Cup, going down to South Africa by eight wickets. The Americans, who were blown away by Australia in their opener, were brushed away by the Proteas in less than two days’ time. Put into bat, USA never found the going easy with Graham Hume spewing fire in his opening spell. Gregory Sewdial wanted to make some difference in the American total and dug deep to muster 41 and with Azurdeen Mohammed (19) and wicketkeeper batsman Saami Siddiqui (19 NO) saw the team to some semblance of respectability. Dale Deeb was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa, snapping up three for 23 in his 10 overs as USA managed 163 in 49.5 overs The Proteas in reply, cruised along to an eight wicket win with 14.5 overs to spare. Opener Dominic Hendricks and Colin Ackermann cracked fluent half centuries despite USA’s valiant efforts with the ball, during which they prized out Josh Richards and Stephan Smith, reducing the South Africans to 38 for two at one point.

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Collated scores from the under-19 cricket World Cup Collated abbreviated scores from today's under-19 World Cup cricket matches: More... Collated scores from the under-19 cricket World Cup Published: 9:26PM Monday January 18, 2010 Source: NZPA Collated abbreviated scores from today's under-19 World Cup cricket matches: At Christchurch: England 127 for one in 25.5 overs (Chris Dent 53no, James Vince 47no) beat Afghanistan 126 all out in 47.2 overs (Hashmat Shaidi 41; Danny Briggs 3-15, Nathan Buck 3-18, Azeem Rafiq 2-29) by 9 wickets. At Palmerston North: Pakistan 100 for four in 18.1 overs (Muhammad Babar 40no, Azeem Ghumman 40; Raymond Haoda 2-44) beat Papua New Guinea 99 all out in 37.3 overs (Tony Ura 23; Usman Qadir 4-35, Shahzaib Ahmed 2-8, Fayyaz Butt 2-12) by 6 wickets. At Queenstown: South Africa 166 for two in 35.1 overs (Dominic Hendricks 75 no, Colin Ackermann 64 no) beat USA 163 all out in 49.5 overs (Gregory Sewdial 41; Dale Deeb 3-23, Graham Hume 3-29, Stephan Smith 2-39) by 8 wickets. At Christchurch: Sri Lanka 276 for six in 50 overs (Banuka Rajapaksa 68, Akshu Fernando 43 no, Udara Jayasundera 43; Hiral Patel 3-45) beat Canada 142 all out in 39.3 overs (Hiral Patel 69; Chatura Peiris 5-25, Udara Jayasundera 2-26) by 134 runs

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Cricket: Pakistan stay top in U-19 Cricket World Cup The gap between cricket's top teams and the game's minnows wasunderlined with four lop-sided wins in the under-19 World Cup onMonday More... Lop-sided results at U-19 cricket Published: 9:20PM Monday January 18, 2010 Source: NZPA The gap between cricket's top teams and the game's minnows was underlined with four lop-sided wins in the under-19 World Cup on Monday. Pakistan stayed top of Group D with their second win, a comfortable six-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea in Palmerston North. A very dominant bowling performance had PNG wrapped up for 99 in 37.3 overs, and in reply Pakistan overcame a terrible start to win with 191 balls remaining and six wickets in hand. Pakistan leg spinner Usman Qadir proved all but unplayable for Papua New Guinea, eventually picking up 4-35. Shahzaib Ahmed also netted impressive figures of 2-8 off 6.3 overs, while Fayyaz Butt finished with 2-12, both his wickets coming in a destructive sixth over Papua New Guinea put up a great start with the ball to give themselves some lift, Raymond Haoda and Timothy Mou removing Pakistan's openers without a run on the board. They couldn't dislodge the next pair as Babar Azam and captain Azeem Ghumman rattled away a stand of 65 in quick time -- when Ghumman departed for a 43-ball 40 there were only 33 needed to win. Azam finished the job with an unbeaten 40. England also topped their group with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in Christchurch. It was another poor batting display from Afghanistan, bowled out for 126 in 47.2 overs. Nathan Buck struck thrice with the new ball to leave Afghanistan stunned at 10 for three. The middle-order pair of Hashmatullah Shaidi (41 from 58 balls) and Khushal Rasooli (29 from 83) held up England for a while. But even their stand was not enough, as Azeem Rafiq and Danny Briggs, bowling a tidy right-and-left-arm spin combo, shared five wickets to check the lower middle order and the tail. Briggs was especially successful with 3 for 15 from his quota. England's top order then went about reaching their minimal target with confidence, taking just 25.2 overs to finish the game. Joe Root made 25 in an opening stand of 52 with Chris Dent, who stayed on to finish the game with an unbeaten 52. James Vince continued his form with 47 from 48 balls. In Queenstown, South Africa trounced the USA by eight wickets, their bowlers dismissing the Americans for 163 in 49.5 overs. The chase proved an easy one, despite the loss of two early wickets. Carried by the opener Dominic Hendricks, who made an unbeaten 75, they romped home with eight wickets in hand. The highly rated Colin Ackermann made a cool unbeaten 64 from 71 balls, with eights four and a six. Canada proved no match for Sri Lanka at Lincoln in Christchurch, where they were all out for 142 chasing a target of 277. Sri Lanka put up a strong total thanks to a steady stream of performances across the order -- Bhanuka Rajapaksa top scored with 68 and Sri Lanka's innings ended with Akshu Fernando biffing 43 from 25 balls. Their bowlers then knocked over Canada cheaply, Chathura Peiris taking five wickets. Only opener Hiral Patel's 69 provided any hope, but with no other batsman bettering 17, the Canadians were all out in the 40th over.

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U-19 WC : Diverse in style, India openers a hit The two then rise through the ranks and open the batting for India in a World Cup. Meet Mayank Agarwal and K.L. Rahul, the Karnataka boys who tucked into the Hong Kong attack like it was a hot serving of bisibelebhath (a South Indian rice preparation) on a cold, rainy day. More... Diverse in style, India openers a hit Anand Vasu , Hindustan Times Christchurch, January 19, 2010 A Bollywood scriptwriter could not have done a better job. Two 12-year-old boys meet in Bangalore as they get their first break for the state. One is a dasher who has modelled his game on Virender Sehwag, from audacious crisp hitting down to the hop-skip run-up off-spin. The other idolises Rahul Dravid, cover-drives elegantly and works the ball off his hips like a pro, the perfect foil to the daredevil. The two then rise through the ranks and open the batting for India in a World Cup. Meet Mayank Agarwal and K.L. Rahul, the Karnataka boys who tucked into the Hong Kong attack like it was a hot serving of bisibelebhath (a South Indian rice preparation) on a cold, rainy day. The target was not big and the attack fairly pedestrian, but with the serious threat of rain, the chance that lost points would make India's match against England a must-win, and a tricky pitch that was up and down, the stage was set. Thankfully, the actors did not fluff their lines. Agarwal, stockily built and exuding power, reminds you of a boxer waiting for the bell to ring so he can get stuck into his opponent. As soon as the ball is in his range, and that's a pretty broad one, he gets stuck in. Driving fearlessly on the up, with the gift of timing, he effortlessly and regularly hits sixes over extra cover, and provided an example on Sunday. His favourite shot, though, is the cut, and it's easy to see why, given how effortless his strokes look. “The timing and aggression are a gift I've been given by God,” says the student of Jain College in Bangalore, whose alumnus include Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey. “Today I just played my natural game. Rahul kept telling me to play the ball on merit and I did just that.” Rahul, who made an unbeaten 62 to Agarwal’s 63, is no slouch either, and a cover drive that stayed all along the turf as it sped to the fence was a shot that the other Rahul would have been proud of. “It's great to be compared to the player you've looked up to all your life,” said Rahul, even speaking a language that's uncannily similar to his idol. “I think of it as an honour to be compared to one of the best players India has ever produced.” Rahul, who is from Mangalore, pitches up in Bangalore often for camps at the National Cricket Academy, and has practiced alongside Dravid. “He tells me about the mistakes I make, little things about batting,” says Rahul. “I spoke to him when the World Cup team was announced and he told me about the conditions here in New Zealand and how to prepare mentally as the pitches are completely different from what we're used to back home. That really helped.” While Dravid is the idol, it's Agarwal who Rahul seeks out in Bangalore, playing together, having lunch and dinner out, just passing time at Agarwal's house. These friends are an odd couple out in the middle, one a purist's delight, the other a bundle of energy. Together, though, they're already acquiring a reputation for making life miserable for opposition bowlers.

[Sachinism]

Interesting. Seem good players, lets see how things work out for them. Hopefully will get to see more of them on Wednesday

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Pakistan survive Bangladesh scare : bang u 19 lost conceding 50 runs in 19 balls! Bangladesh ran Pakistan close in their ICC U19 World Cup at Palmerston North on Wednesday before going down in the last over. More...

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Kiwis cruise past Lankan challenge Harry Boam starred with the bat for New Zealand as they beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in their ICC U19 World Cup clash. More...

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Proteas edge Aussies in thriller South Africa hung on to their nerves to win a thrilling encounter against Australia in Queenstown at the ICC U19 World Cup. More...

[youngindia]

bang u 19 lost conceding 50 runs in 19 balls! three teams wi,pak and bangladesh were competing for places if bangladesh had won. but they lost it conceding 60 runs from 5 overs and i think 19 off the last over. an incredible loss anyway you saw it., for an emerging nation, this is exactly what's not needed.!

[asterix]

Countinuing their tradition of being 'ordinary'..

[Sachinism]

Yeh Pakistan got lucky there. That Baber Azam seems a good player, scored well in every game so far

[Zelig]

Yeh Pakistan got lucky there. That Baber Azam seems a good player, scored well in every game so far

He is just 15! :dontknow:

[Sachinism]

whoa he really looks 15 as well lol