It was a day of double delight for young Rishabh Pant as he guided the India colts to the semifinal of the ICC U-19 World Cup here with a crushing 197-run win over Namibia besides fetching `1.9 crore
It was a day of double delight for young Rishabh Pant as he guided the India colts to the semifinal of the ICC U-19 World Cup here with a crushing 197-run win over Namibia besides fetching `1.9 crore IPL deal with the Delhi Daredevils.
Left-handed Pant propelled India to 349/6 with a pulsating 111 off 96 balls, with other contributions coming from Anmolpreet Singh (41), Sarfaraz Khan (76) and Armaan Jaffer (64).
Anmolpreet also chipped in with three valuable wickets and alongside other spinners, Mayank Dagar (3/25) and Washington Sundar (2/27), plotted the downfall of Namibia, who folded for 149 in 39 overs.
Namibia began the mammoth chase well with openers S.J. Loftie-Eaton and Niko Davin taking the team past 50. But their challenge fizzled out soon after and from 59 for no loss, the team were tottering at 96/5.
The African side was expected to show more fight in the quarterfinals after they famously knocked out defending champions South Africa in the group stage.
As it turned out, it was India, coached by batting great Rahul Dravid, all the way, be it the professional effort with the ball or their stellar batting performance after winning the toss. Pant’s fireworks were on display hours before he was bought by Delhi Daredevils after a bidding war with the Mumbai Indians.
Scores India 349/6 in 50 overs (Pant 111, Sarfaraz 76, Jaafer 64) bt Namibia 152 in 39 overs (N. Davin 33, Dagar 3/25, Anmolpreet 3/27).