U-19 World Cup: Japan 41 all out, Yashasvi Jaiswal 29 not out

India bowls Japan out for joint second-lowest score, 41, in the Cup history; chases down the target in 4.5 overs for a 10-wicket victory in Bloemfontein.

India U19 captain Priyam Garg with Japan captain Marcus Thurgate at the toss.

 

It was not the kind of start Japan would have wanted in its maiden ICC Under-19 World Cup. Dismissed for 41 against four-time champion India in its first match, Japan recorded the joint second-lowest team total, 41 in 22.5 overs, in the Cup history.

Japan joined Canada and Bangladesh in the unique list. Scotland's 22 against Australia in 2004 is the lowest team total in 13 editions of the Cup.

India captain Priyam Garg won the toss and opted to bowl. What followed was a horrendous time at the crease for the debutants. With five middle-order batsmen walking back to the pavilion for ducks, there was little that Japan could have done against India who started the Cup with a win over Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Young leggie Ravi Bishnoi ripped through the middle order with four scalps. He returned with magnificent figures — 8-3-5-4.

Chasing down the target in 4.5 overs, India won the match by 10 wickets. Yashasvi Jaiswal (29* off 18) did most of the damage by hammering five fours and a six.

"I knew it was going to be a really tough game. We didn't do our best, specially with the batting. We could have done better. We learnt a lot. We can go to Japan and say that we've played against some of the big guys. We'll take a lot of positives from this game. We need to learn from our mistakes and keep getting better," Japan captain Thurgate said at the presentation ceremony.

India captain Garg feels there is room for perfection. "The spinners were good, but the lines and lengths could have been better from the pacers. There's no pressure as such. We want to do well, we take every game as it comes," he summed up.