Cricket news round-up – January 25: India beat New Zealand in both formats

India beat New Zealand in both the first T20I of the series as well as in the Under-19 World Cup; England finished a rain-affected day at The Wanderers on 192/4; Pakistan went 1-0 up in the T20I series, while the Under-19 teams of both sides as well as Afghanistan made it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

India go 1-0 up

India went one-up in the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand with a 6-wicket win at Eden Park. Asked to bat, New Zealand raced to 68 without loss in the Powerplay overs before Jasprit Bumrah (4-0-31-1) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4-0-32-1) pulled things bat. Even then, Colin Munro (59 in 42 balls), Kane Williamson (51 in 26), and Ross Taylor (54* in 27) muscled them to 203/5.

The Indian chase was set up by a 99-run second-wicket stand between KL Rahul (56 in 27) and Virat Kohli (45 in 32) before they lost 3 wickets. At one point they needed 62 in 38 balls, but Shreyas Iyer (58* in 29) saw them through with an over to spare.

India Under-19s top group, New Zealand go through as well

India Under-19s finished the group stage with 3 wins in 3 matches. They beat New Zealand in their last league match, by 44 runs using DLS Method. India will now play Australia in the quarter-final, while New Zealand will take on West Indies.

Asked to bat, the Indian innings was halted several times by rain, but Yashasvi Jaiswal (57*) and Divyaansh Saxena (52*) stayed put, and India finished with 115 without loss in 23 overs. New Zealand’s target was set at 192.

They started well, reaching 83/1 in the ninth over thanks to Rhys Mariu (42 in 31) and Fergus Lellman (31 in 19). However, they collapsed to 147 once the spinners came on: Ravi Bishnoi finished with 4/30 and Atharva Ankolekar with 3/28.

New Zealand did beat India at Christchurch in the third match between the sides, where their A-side scored 295/7 and restricted India A to 266/7.

Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan Under-19s qualify

The match between Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Under-19 World Cup had to be called off midway. Opting to bowl, Mohammad Amir Khan (4/30) and Abbas Afridi (3/20) reduced Bangladesh to 106/9 before rain prevented further play.

Both sides finished on 5 points each, but Bangladesh topped the group with a NRR of +5.008, some distance ahead of Pakistan’s +2.706. Pakistan will now face Afghanistan, while Bangladesh will take on the winner between South Africa and the UAE.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, topped the group despite their match against Canada being washed out entirely.

Honours even at Johannesburg

England finished Day 1 at Johannesburg on 192/4 amidst multiple bouts of rain. Opting to bat, they were off to a solid start thanks to a 107-run opening stand between Zak Crawley (66) and Dom Sibley (44). Since then none of their batsmen managed to reach 30 as Vernon Philander, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje, and Dane Paterson all picked up a wicket apiece.

Pakistan take lead at Lahore

Pakistan went one-up in the 3-match T20I series with a 5-wicket win against Bangladesh. Batting first, Bangladesh reached 71 in 11 overs on a slow pitch thanks to Tamim Iqbal (39 in 34) and Mohammad Naim (43 in 41) en route 141/5 (Shaheen Shah Afridi 4-0-23-1, Shadab Khan 4-0-26-1).

Despite losing a couple of early wickets, Ahsan Ali (36 in 32) then steadied the ship for Pakistan before Shoaib Malik (58* in 45) saw them through in the last over. Shafiul Islam finished with 4-0-27-2 and Al-Amin Hossain with 4-0-18-1.