Confident India set sights on U-19 WC final
Their confidence at an all time high after a narrow win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the quarter-finals, India would look to carry on the good show against New Zealand in the semi-finals of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup here on Thursday.
Having started on a poor note, losing their lung opener against the West Indies, India managed to bring their campaign back on track with back-to-back victories against Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea before registering one-wicket victory over Pakistan in the last eight round.
However, the batting department remains a major cause of concern for the Indians going into the crucial game. Leaving aside the match against Zimbabwe, where the top-order clicked in unison, the Indian batsmen have been inconsistent so far in the tournament.
Skipper Unkunt Chand has amassed 104 runs from his four outings in the tournament with 78 against Zimbabwe being his best, while Baba Aprajith, before his match-winning half-century against Pakistan, could manage a meagre 43 from three outings.
Opener Prashant Chopra though scored a duck in the last match, has been the most consistent batsman for India with two half-centuries against his name.
Vijay Zol and wicketkeeper-batsman Samit Patel have been pretty decent with the willow in the middle order, but they certainly would need to do better against the Kiwis on Thursday.
India, meanwhile, can boast of a reliable bowling attack, which has been consistent in the tournament so far.
The team is likely to rely heavily on the likes of Kamal Passi, Sandeep Sharma and Ravikant Singh to deliver the the goods once again.
Fielding is another strong point of the Indians and they would definitely try to keep up the good work.
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