India 'A' and 'B' sides beat South Africa and Afghanistan to make winning start in U-19 Quadrangular tournament

Thiruvananthapuram: The India ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams started their campaigns in the under-19 quadrangular ODI series on Tuesday with easy wins over South Africa and Afghanistan respectively. In a match played at the Greenfield International stadium, India ‘A’ routed the Proteas colts by 157 runs while the ‘B’ team hammered Afghanistan by seven wickets at the St Xavier’s KCA ground. [caption id=“attachment_6073551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The ‘A’ team won the toss and posted 251 all out in 50 overs, riding on half-centuries by opener Qamran Iqbal (60, 65 balls, 3X4, 4X6) and Sashwat Rawat (64, 55 balls, 10X4). For the Proteas, Marco Jansen took four wickets conceding 30 runs while Nonelela Yikha took 2 for 37. In reply, the visiting South Africans were bundled out for 94 in 35.4 overs with left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey shining with figures of 3 for 7 from seven overs while off-break bowler Ravi Bishnoi took 3 for 27. Tail-ender Marco Jansen was the highest scorer with 33 (57 balls 3X4, 1X6) while only one other batsmen reached double figures. In the India ‘B’-Afghanistan game, fast bowler Purnank Tyagi (4 for 36 in 9 overs) and leg-spinner Paras Ray Barman with brilliant figures of 3 for 10 helped the host team bundle out the Afghan colts for 106 in 47.3 overs. Jamshid made the top score of 28 for the Afghanistan team which struggled to get going on a track offering help to the bowlers. In reply, India ‘B’ was in trouble, losing three wickets for just five runs before captain Rahul Chandrol (56 not out, 51 balls, 5X4, 1X6) and K Nitish Kumar Reddy (44, 70 balls, 4X4) saw the team home. Brief scores: India under-19 ‘A’ 251 all out in 50 overs (Qamran Iqbal 60, Ravi Bishnoi 64, Marco Jansen 4 for 30) beat South Africa under-19 94 all out in 35.4 overs (Marco Jansen 33, Harsh Dubey 3 for 7, Ravi Bishnoi 3 for 27). MoM: Qamran Iqbal. Afghanistan under-19 106 all out in 47.3 overs (Mohd Ishaq Zazai 20, Jamshid 28, Purnank Tyagi 4 for 36, Prayas Ray Barman 3 for 10) lost to India under-19 ‘B’ 107 for 3 in 22.3 overs (Rahul Chandrol 56 not out, Nitish Kumar Reddy 44 not out). MoM: Purnank Tyagi.