India set up title clash with hosts Bangladesh

Touted to be the match of the tournament, the India-Pakistan ACC Under-17s Asia Cup semi-final encounter at the Bangladesh Krira Shixa Protisthan Ground in Savar, Dhaka fizzled out into a one-sided affair with India crushing their arch rivals by a good 77 runs. With this win India set up a title clash with hosts Bangladesh who stunned holders Sri Lanka by five wickets in the other semi-final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday.

Put into bat, the Indians helped themselves along to a score of 191 for 7 in their allotted 45 overs. A solid start was provided by openers SM Dholpure (24) and skipper Parthiv Patel (12) who added 57 runs in 13.3 overs. Both the openers returned to the pavilion in quick succession but Deepak Chougule (40) and ASK Verma (22) added 55 runs for the third wicket.

The fall of Chougule saw India lose their way to 143 for 6 at one stage. Shankara Rao (22) and Rakesh Mohanty (26) came together to help India post a sizeable total on board. In the 7.2 overs they were together Mohanty and Shankara Rao added 41 valuable runs for the seventh wicket. The wickets were shared by three of the Pakistani bowlers - Salim Qadir (2 for 26), Mohammad Azhar Ali (2 for 32) and Azam Hussain (2 for 38).

Set to score 192, Pakistan made a confident start with openers Khalid Latif and skipper Salman Butt (36) adding 41 runs in 9.1 overs. The fall of Khalid triggered a collapse and before long Pakistan were staring down the barrel at 44 for 4. But for Salman Qadir (21) and Mohammad Azhar Ali (24) Pakistan would have struggled to put up 100 on the board.

After the fall of the fourth wicket, Qadir joined Mohammad Altaf (5) to take the score on to 71. Azhar Ali later held the fort for Pakistan but much to his chagrin none of his partners were prepared to stick on. Finally with the score at 114, Azhar Ali himself fell to give India a well deserved win. The wickets were shared all around, Stuart Binny (3 for 23) being the pick. Stuart, son of team coach and former Indian allrounder Roger Binny, was adjudged Man of the Match.