Bloemfontein, Jan 25 (PTI) Musheer Khan gave ample display of his immense talent with a superb hundred that took India to an imposing 301 for 7 against Ireland in the U-19 World Cup here on Thursday.
On the same day when elder brother Sarfaraz scored 161 in an unofficial Test versus England Lions in Ahmedabad, thousands of kilometres away in Bloemfontein, Musheer paced his innings brilliantly to score 118 off just 106 balls with the help of nine fours and four sixes.
He took only 34 balls to rece to 100 from 50, having scored the first 50 runs off 66 balls. Along with skipper Uday Saharan (75 off 84 balls), Musheer added 156 as the young Indian batters gave a good account of themselves albeit against a weaker bowling attack.
In the end, Sachin Dhas, perhaps the most exciting talent in the U-19 set-up, smashed 21 off 9 balls to take India past 300-run mark, which is the highest score in an U-19 international at this ground.
India scored 119 runs in the last 10 overs.
However the Indian innings was about Musheer’s brilliant game awareness as he took his time before unleashing a brutal assault on the Irish bowlers.
Very strong on the on-side, all his maximums came in the region between square leg, deep mid-wicket and long-on.
He treated opposition’s best pacer Oliver Riley (3/55) with disdain, hitting him for two sixes.
Saharan, who played the second fiddle to Adarsh Singh in the opening game, was once again brilliant as an anchor, rotating the strike well and letting Musheer play his natural attacking game.
Brief Scores:
India U-19 301/7 (Musheer Khan 118, Uday Saharan 75, Oliver Riley 3/55) vs Ireland.
