India, South Africa share trophy after rain washes out U-19 Tri-Nation tournament final in Johannesburg

Johannesburg: The Uday Saharan-led Indian colts shared the top honours with their South African counterparts in the Tri-Nation Under-19 Tournament after the title clash was called off due to rain here on Wednesday. The match officials waited for the designated cut-off time to allow the minimum 20 overs for a result to be achieved. But because of the wet playing conditions, the final at the Old Edwardians Cricket Ground Club was abandoned without a ball being bowled. With no reserve day, the prize was shared between both the teams. Five-time champions India will now shift their focus on the U-19 World Cup beginning on 19 January. The Indian side will face Australia in their U-19 World Cup warm-up fixture at Pretoria on Saturday. They have a second warm-up fixture against Sri Lanka on 17 January. In the tournament proper, five-time champions India side play against Bangladesh. The Indian colts made the Tri-Nation final by winning all their four group league matches. Saharan and Adarsh Singh have struck a century each to form the backbone of their batting. While Saharan had 117 runs in three innings, Adarsh finished as the top run-getter of the series with 230 runs. The Proteas U-19 side on the other hand made the final by virtue of their better net run-rate over Afghanistan. Having lost to Afghans in their opener, South Africa bounced back to defeat them in the last game.