He was India captain Rohit Sharma's opening partner in the home T20 series against Afghanistan earlier this year but his place looked under threat as he struggled for runs in the IPL
India Under-19 thrash Namibia to enter semis
Opener Rishabh Pant struck a brilliant 111 off 96 balls as India demolished Namibia by 197 runs in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup.
Published : 6 Feb 2016, 02:54 PM
Updated : 6 Feb 2016, 02:54 PM
With good support from Sarfaraz Khan (76) and Armaan Jaffer (64), Pant steered the team to a massive score of 349 for six in 50 overs at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium on Saturday.
In reply, Namibia were skittled out for a mere 152 in 39 overs, thanks to spinners Mayank Dagar (3-25), Anmolpreet Singh (3-27) and Washington Sundar (2-27).
Three-time champions India, coached by batting great and former captain Rahul Dravid, will take on the winner of Sunday’s quarter-final between strong contenders England and Sri Lanka in the first semi-final in Mirpur on Feb 9.
Pant added 103 runs for the second wicket with Anmolpreet Singh (41) after captain Ishan Kishan (6) had been caught and bowled by Fritz Coetzee in the third over itself.
En route his ton, Pant hit 14 boundaries and two sixes.
That set the stage for an Indian assault with former school-mates Sarfaraz Khan and Armaan Jaffar scoring aggressive half-centuries later on to post a mammoth total.
In their chase, Namibia made an impressive start with openers SJ Loftie-Eaton (22) and Niko Davin (33) putting on 59 runs for the first wicket by the 10th over.
Skipper Zane Green then made 27 to lift Namibia to 80 for one, but thereafter the rest of the batsmen fell in clusters.
India’s left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar (3/25) and off-break spinner Anmolpreet (3/27) produced the bulk of the breakthroughs.
The second semi-final between host Bangladesh and the winner between Pakistan and the West Indies on Monday will be played in Mirpur on Feb 11.
Brief scores:
India: 349/6 in 50 overs (Rishabh Pant 111, Sarfaraz Khan 76; Fritz Coetzee 3/78).
Namibia: 152 all out in 39 overs (Niko Davin 33; Mayank Dagar 3/25, Anmolpreet Singh 3/27, Washington Sundar 2/27).
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