The Hindu : Karvi and Shukla put India in final

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 26, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Karvi and Shukla put India in final

By Our Sports Reporter

Sameera Soysa of Sri Lanka is castled by Umesh Karvi of India

BANGALORE, JAN. 25. It was a perfect Sunday for India as the defending champion rode high on seamer Umesh Karvi's four-wicket burst and Ravikant Shukla's unbeaten 96. The duo's efforts helped the host defeat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in a Asia Cup Under-17 semifinal here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. In another semifinal at the IAF Ground, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets.

Earlier, India's march into the final hastened as seamer Umesh Karvi (four for 24) scalped S. Soysa, S. Serasinghe and Rishan Kavinda in the second, fourth and sixth deliveries of his sixth over. The wiry lad hailing from Kundapura in coastal Karnataka, relied on swing and reaped the benefits against tentative batsmen.

However hope lingered for Sri Lanka as southpaw S. Pathirana (74, 78b, 9 x 4) and A. Mathews (56) shared a 133-run fifth-wicket partnership. Pathirana displayed shades of Jayasuriya as he often whipped the bowlers into submission. A swivel pull off spinner Ali Murtaza ushered in his fifty and the celebration extended into the next two deliveries with a late cut and a lofted shot over covers.

Sri Lanka's resurgence petered out soon as Pathirana got run out while a sedate Mathews suddenly gave the charge to left-arm spinner Shabaz Nadeem and was castled. Sri Lanka was bowled out for 193 in 41.1 overs.

The Indian chase suffered the jitters at the starting blocks as seamer Mathews rattled the timber of Ali Murtaza and Raviraj Patil. At 14 for two, India was in search of redemption and opener Uday Kaul (43) and Ravikant Shukla (96 not out, 107b, 10 x 4, 2 x 6) filled the breach adequately.

Shukla sported a cavalier air and left the home team dressing room on tenterhooks with his wild heaves against Karunanayake. But he soon settled down to play a mature innings and tucked into his runs with relish against the spinners and drove them to despair. After Uday Kaul's dismissal, Shukla stayed firm with skipper A.G. Pradeep (35 not out) and India won in 37.4 overs.

At the IAF Ground, the Bangladesh top-order caved in early and it was left to the lower-order batsmen to add substance to the total. Mazharuddin (33) and Ishraq Sonet (42) helped Bangladesh score 152 in 44 overs while seamer Nawaz Sardar (three for 15) topped the bowling charts. Pakistan was hardly tested and the winning runs were pocketed with ease as Adnan Raza (60 not out) and Fiaz Ahmed (22 not out) chipped in an unbeaten 71-run fourth-wicket partnership.

The final between India and Pakistan will be held at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Tuesday.

The scores (semifinals):

Sri Lanka 193 in 41.1 overs (S. Pathirana 74, A. Mathews 56, S. Soysa 25, Umesh Karvi four for 24, Shabaaz Nadeem three for 45) lost to India 194 for three in 37.4 overs (Ravikant Shukla 96 not out, Uday Kaul 43, A.G. Pradeep 35 not out).

Bangladesh 152 in 44 overs (Ishraq Sonet 42, Mazharuddin 33, Nawaz Sardar three for 15) lost to Pakistan 154 for three in 31.5 overs (Adnan Raza 60 not out, Yasir Arafat 28).

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