Dharmichand bowls Rest of India to ten wicket victory

Rest of India Under-19 beat the touring England side by ten wickets at the MIG grounds in Mumbai on Saturday. England Under-19 fizzled out in the second innings for 155 off 68.2 overs setting Rest Of India 45 runs to win the match, shortly after the lunch break on Saturday.

ROI openers Gag Inder Singh (24*) and Arindam Das (22*) knocked off the runs in 11.3 overs earning a ten wicket victory in the last over before the tea interval.

Karnataka offspinner Mulewa Dharmichand returned with magical match figures of 12 for 131 in 51.2 overs. He bagged five wickets in the first innings giving away 65 runs off his 25 overs and picked up seven for 66 in the second.

The tourists began the day on 11 for two. It was not a happy outing for the Englishmen as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. John Sadler was the first man to go in the morning session giving Dharmichand his first wicket of the morning. Sadler was out for eight runs off 50 balls with one hit to the fence. Ian Bell scored 29, Ian Patison chipped in with 25 and Robert Ferley top scored with 33 of 53 balls with five boundaries. Kashinath Khadkikar picked up three for 35 with his offspinners.

The first session of the morning produced 90 runs for the loss of four wickets in 40 overs. The post lunch session had merry tidings for the Rest of India bowlers as they picked up four wickets for 54 runs in 20.2 overs.

This was the first loss of the tour for the Englishmen after scoring a victory in the limited overs game at Pune.

The tourists play the first 'Test' against the India under-19 here from January 9.