U-19 WC: Easy outing awaits title holders India against Japan

ir title defence off to a resounding start, four-time champions India would look to inch closer towards a quarterfinal spot when y take on debutants Japan in a Group A tie of ICC U-19 World Cup here on Tuesday.

India cruised to a 90-run victory over Sri Lanka in ir opening group league encounter here on Sunday, riding on an impressive batting performance which was topped by a disciplined bowling effort.

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Japan, on or hand, were lucky to have garnered a point after ir first match against New Zealand was washed out in Potchefstroom on Saturday. India are atop Group A and a victory on Tuesday will virtually guarantee m a place in last-eight round. India will play New Zealand in ir last group match on January 24.

India outclass Sri Lanka

Indians played like favourites on Sunday, excelling in all departments of game to outclass ir South Asian neighbours. Batting first, India scored a competitive 297 for 4, riding on half-centuries from ir premier batsmen -- opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (59 off 74 balls) and skipper Priyam Garg (56 off 72 balls).

re were significant contributions from vice-captain Dhruv Jurel (52 off 48 balls) and late entrant all-rounder Siddhesh Veer (44 off 27 balls and 2/34 in 6 overs), which took total close to 300-run mark. players n kept Lankan batsmen under check with ir bowling, dismissing m for 207 in 45.2 overs. 

Left-arm pacer Akash Singh (2/29), Veer (2/34) and leg-spinner Ravi Bishi (2/44), who will be seen donning Kings XI Punjab colours in IPL, shared six wickets between m. Fast bowler Kartik Tyagi (1/27), who already has a multi-crore IPL contract, was most impressive as he time and again breached 140kmph mark, while Jaiswal too picked up a wicket.

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India expected to overcome Japan

And come Tuesday, Indians are expected to steamroll an inexperienced Japan. If India bat first, y are expected to be pile up a mammoth total against inexperienced Japanese attack. Japanese are at ICC U-19 World Cup to gar valuable experience by playing against top teams of world and are t expected to pose any threat to Indians. But minws would hope to make life difficult for mighty Indians.

Teams (from):

India U-19: Priyam Garg (Captain), Akash Singh, Atharva Ankolekar, Shubhang Hegde, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Kartik Tyagi, Kumar Kushagra, Sushant Mishra, Vidyadhar Patil, Ravi Bishi, Shashwat Rawat, Divyaansh Saxena, Tilak Varma, Siddhesh Veer, Divyansh Joshi. 

Japan U-19: Marcus Thurgate (Captain), Tushar Chaturvedi, Maximillian Clements, Neel Date, Kento Dobell, Sora Ichiki, Ishaan Fartyal, Leon Mehlig, Masato Morita, Shu guchi, Yugandhar Retharekar, Debashish Sahoo, Reiji Suto, Kazumasa Takahashi, Ashley Thurgate. 

(Im Courtesy: BCCI)