All-round Australia thump Zimbabwe
Australia Under-19s and India Under-19s both secured wins in the Quadrangular Under-19 series
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Sep-2013
Kelvin Smith smashed a 137-ball 139 • BCCI
A century from the opener Kelvin Smith, followed by a five-wicket haul by the legspinner Tom Andrews powered Australia Under-19s to a comprehensive 147-run victory over Zimbabwe Under-19s in Visakhapatnam.
Smith smashed a total of 20 fours and one six during his 137-ball 139, and added 210 and 64 for the first and second wicket with Damien Mortimer and Jaron Morgan respectively. The pair played the ideal foils to Smith's knock, with Mortimer making a patient 79 from 113 balls that included 10 fours and a six, while Morgan accelerated towards the end by blasting eight fours and four sixes during his 34-ball 70, to take Australia to a mammoth 329 in their 50 overs.
Zimbabwe made a brief fight of the chase as the openers Dylan Nel and Joylord Gumbie raced to 84 inside 16 overs, but Andrews decimated their top order in quick succession and finished with 5 for 55, to end any chance of an unlikely Zimbabwe win.
No other significant partnerships materialised, and the last eight batsmen made just 42 runs between them, as the offspinner Riley Ayre picked up the last three wickets to bowl Zimbabwe out for 182 in 35 overs.
A 159-run stand for the fifth wicket between Sarfaraz Khan and Ricky Bhui made the difference in the end, as India Under-19s chased down 271 to complete a four-wicket win against South Africa Under-19s.
The hosts were struggling at 93 for 4 after 15.4 overs, but Sarfaraz and Bhui counterattacked by smashing 29 fours and four sixes between them to take the attack to South Africa. Sarfaraz eventually departed in the 36th over for a quickfire 101 that came in just 66 deliveries, but Bhui remained unbeaten at 94 to take India home with 10.3 overs remaining.
Electing to bat, South Africa had earlier got off to a slow start, losing two wickets for just 36 runs inside 11 overs. But Clyde Fortuin and Lloyd Brown added 124 for the third wicket to help take the visitors to 270 for 8. Fortuin struck 15 fours during his 99-ball 90, while Brown's 69 included five fours and two sixes.
Abhimanyu Lamba and Chama Milind picked up three wickets each for India.
