Dubai: An outstanding show by the bowlers followed by an unbeaten half-century from opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi led India to an easy nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a rain-hit final of U19 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium here on Friday. The win also meant that India clinched the U19 Asia Cup trophy for the eighth time out of nine editions.
After restricting Sri Lanka to 106/9 in 38 overs, India had to chase 102 in the same allotted overs. Sri Lanka struck an early blow as Harnoor Singh was trapped plumb lbw by Yasiru Rodrigo for just five.
But his partner Raghuvanshi, who was hit early on the helmet, was unfazed in shot selection. He got his first boundary of the match with a lovely backfoot punch and followed it with a pull over square leg.
His partner Shaik Rasheed kept the scoreboard ticking by rotating the strike and hitting a boundary. The duo`s efforts meant that they brought up the half-century of their stand for the second wicket. After that, Raghuvanshi brought out his stroke-play, smashing boundaries while using his feet, and found gaps with ease.
Raghuvanshi completed his impressive fifty in 64 balls with a single through on-side. The Indian batters were also aided by the fact that the Sri Lanka bowling attack was too wide or gave too much room to effortlessly play their shots.