Ricky Bhui scored a superb ton in the previous practice match © Getty Images
Their senior sides have not met since ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, but India and Pakistan will face each other in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 on Monday in the 14th practice match of the tournament. The match will be played at Dhaka. Both teams have already played one match each, and won those matches easily. However, the size of the wins varied greatly. While Pakistan pulled off a convincing win over Nepal, India’s victory was an absolute annihilation of their opponents, Canada. Pakistan will be wary of a steamrolling Indian Under-19 team, whose confidence will be sky-high after their last match. READ: ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 Squad and Group details
That said, Pakistan would be confident themselves. Pakistan played their warm-up match against Nepal and scored 291 for 7. Skipper Zeeshan Malik scored 83 and wicketkeeper Umair Masood was made a rapid 59, but all the batsmen reached double figures. In response Sameen Gul, Saif Ali, Shadab Khan, and Arsal Sheikh took two wickets each and Saif Badar chipped in with one as Nepal could only muster 181 for 9 in reply.
As Canada learnt the hard way, India were an unstoppable juggernaut at Dhaka. Looking at India’s batting card against Canada makes for some excellent reading if you are an Indian supporter. Three batsmen retired to let the others have a bat: skipper Ishan Kishan for 138 off 86 balls, Ricku Bhui for 115 off 71, and Sarfaraz Khan for 48 off 36. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant scored 62 runs off 37 balls, Armaan Jaffer made 36 off 25, and Mahipal Lomror scored 55 not out off 23 balls. READ: ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 Schedule: Match fixtures and time table with ground details
India Under-19s amassed a humungous 485, smashing records galore in the process. The Canada reply was another shambolic performance. Only five batsmen got to double figures, and none went past 25. Every Indian bowler took a wicket, including Sarfaraz who bowled just one legitimate delivery, as Canada were bolwed out for a mere 113. Avesh Khan took 1 for 14, Shubham Mavi took 2 for 20, Rahul Bhatam took 1 for 15, Zeeshan Ansari took 2 for 39, Lomror 3 for 19, and Sarfaraz 1 for 1.
India will go into the match as clear favourites, but Pakistan are equally capable of pulling off a win. This is no mere practice match given the sheer history between the two sides. The Indian senior team has an unbeaten streak against Pakistan in the 50-over and T20 World Cups, but Pakistan have enjoyed the upper hand often in Under-19 World Cups. The match promises to be a thriller.
India: Ishan Kishan (c&wk), Khaleel Ahmed, Anmolpreet Singh, Armaan Jaffer, Avesh Khan, Rahul Batham, Ricky Bhui, Mayank Dagar, Sarfaraz Khan, Amandeep Khare, Mahipal Lomror, Shubham Mavi, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Zeeshan Ansari.
Pakistan: Gauhar Hafeez (c), Ahmad Shafiq, Arsal Sheikh, Hasan Khan, Hasan Mohsin, Irfan Liaqat, Mohammad Umar, Muhammad Asad, Saif Ali, Saif Badar, Salman Fayyaz, Sameen Gul, Shadab Khan, Umair Masood (wk), Zeeshan Malik
Time: 8:30 IST | 9:00 Local