India outclass Pakistan to win U-19 series

India U-19s crushed their Pakistan counterparts by 174 runs in the third one-day match to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the four-match series at the Bagh-e-Jinnah ground in Lahore.

The Pakistan U-19s put up another poor show with both bat and the ball, suffering their third defeat in a row, after having lost the opening tie by 82 runs and the second by just seven runs. The fourth and final match will be played on Sunday here at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Put into bat by home captain Riaz Kail, the touring side were propelled by half-centuries from Tanmay Srivastava and Virat Kohli, totalling 298 for nine in the allotted 50 overs and then bowling out Pakistan for 124 in a ball short of 37 overs.

Srivastava and Kohli revived a timid Indian start at 47 for two with a third-wicket stand of 152 runs revived the fortunes of the Indian batting after they were 47 for two. Srivastava's 88 came from 114 balls with seven fours while Kohli's 80 was made from only 92 balls, with nine fours.

Tanvir Afzal, the medium-pacer, took three wickets for 45 runs in eight overs while fast bowler Raza Rehman bagged two wickets in ten overs for 58 runs.

Pakistan's batting suffered from the very start, collapsing to 38 for five as a variety of Indian bowlers extracted maximum support from a good wicket. Rana Adnan top-scored with 27 as did the last man Mohammad Naved.

India's legspinners contributed to much of the damage, captain Piyush Chawla and Sumeet Sharma each snapping up three wickets. Abu Nachim, the fast bowler, also chipped in with two cheap wickets.