India obliterate Hong Kong in 363 run thrashing

Perhaps the most farcical match of the entire Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-15 tournament in Malaysia took place just before the final at the Royal Military College on Saturday. A victory by 363 runs is not a result you see often in a 40 overs a side game. But that is exactly what India handed out to minnows Hong Kong.

India has emerged as the strongest side in the tournament by far and Hong Kong have been as close to the bottom of the list as possible. When Hong Kong won the toss and invited India to bat they certainly would not have been prepared for the kind of battering they received. Every batsman who took the crease made merry. And in quick time to boot. But the honours were cornered by Palash Jothi Das who helped himself to 112 off just 59 balls before he felt he had enough and retired. His innings had just four boundaries. How then did he manage to score so quickly? Perhaps the 11 times he cleared the ropes might have something to do with that.

Sushil Kumar slammed 73 off 60 balls while leg spinner Nikhil Rathod was good for 38 runs that came off just 19 balls. Ambati Tirapati Rayudu who has opened the innings thus far came in at number five and trotted to 53 off just 30 balls.

An amazing 403 runs were scored off 40 overs. Spectators at the ground were treated to a batting spectacle of the highest possible excitement levels.

When Hong Kong took the crease there was more drama. Indisciplined bowling by the Indians saw them give away 29 extras in a total of 40. There must be very few occasions when a team batting second fails to make even ten percent of the required target. Predictably, no batsman made it to double figures, seven succumbing without troubling the scorers. Somewhere in the middle of all this mayhem, Rajesh Banik picked up a hat trick, cleaning up wickets number five, six and seven with the score on 33. He ended with the figures of 2-1-4-3.

On Sunday, India take on Pakistan in the final. For Roger Binny, who was the coach of the Indian Under-19 team that won the World Cup in Sri Lanka, it will be chance to add some silverware to the trophy cabinet. For the eleven Indians who take the field it will be a chance to beat arch rivals Pakistan and avenge the defeat the senior national team suffered at their hands in the Asia Cup in Dhaka.