All-round Hooda powers India to victory

An all-round effort from Deepak Hooda helped India Under-19s thump Sri Lanka Under-19s by 76 runs in the fifth-play playoff semi-final. Hooda first blitzed 76 off 56 deliveries to propel India to 291, and then took three wickets to help bowl Sri Lanka out for 215.

India, coming into the game on the back of an agonizing quarter-final defeat to England, were dominant throughout the match and had raced to 57 in the tenth over after being put in to bat. The openers Ankush Bains and Akhil Herwadkar fell within three overs of each other, but Shreyas Iyer (59) and Sanju Samson (40) added 87 for the third wicket as India consolidated during the middle overs.

Sri Lanka fought back with four quick wickets, but Hooda and Kuldeep Yadav shared an unbroken eighth-wicket stand worth 81 runs off 53 balls, setting Sri Lanka a required run rate of nearly six an over in their chase.

Sadeera Samarawickrama helped Sri Lanka's chase with a handy 58, but apart from Priyamal Perera (47), no other batsman could make more than 27. Kuldeep, Karan Kaila and Chama Milind shared six wickets between them. Hoooda ended with 3 for 31, taking his all-round tally to 11 wickets (the third-highest) and 193 runs from five matches in the tournament.

A patient half-century from Michael English, followed by three wickets apiece from the spinners Ross McLean and Mark Watt, paved the way for Scotland Under-19s' 77-run victory against Papua New Guinea Under-19s in the 13th-place playoff semi-final.

English hit just four fours during his 72 off 123 balls, but more importantly, helped Scotland recover from a shaky start by combining with McLean for a third-wicket partnership of 101 runs. McLean chipped in 41 runs with two fours, but from 121 for 2 in the 30th over, Scotland were bundled out for 209 by the 49th. Left-arm seamer Nosaina Pokana was the pick of PNG's bowlers, and finished with 3 for 27.

PNG, however, were unable to gather any momentum during their chase as their progress was hampered by wickets at regular intervals. Riley Hekure and Allan Joseph were the only two batsmen to make more than 20, as McLean and Watt ran through the line-up in 43.3 overs.

A strong batting display from Namibia Under-19s' top and middle order helped them edge Canada Under-19s by 23 runs in the 13th-place playoff semi-final. Zane Green and Malan Kruger scored 57 each and put up 93 for the second wicket, but it was Jano Coetzee's 50-ball 73 that eventually lifted the team to a formidable 263 for 9.

Canada lost Sudeepta Aurka off the second ball of their chase, before a number of important contributions from their top order, led by Yug Rao's 66, took the team to 133 by the 32nd over. However a number of quick dismissals from then on resulted in the team being bowled out for 240 in 47.3 overs. Coetzee notched three scalps to go with his quick fifty to cap off an impressive all-round display.