New Delhi:
Indian colts defeated Afghanistan by 77 runs to reach the finals of Youth Asia Cup on Tuesday. Himanshu Rana’s superb century was backed up by handy cameos by Abhishek Sharma and Prithvi Shaw.
Rana was the rock in the Indian line-up, scoring 130 off 123 balls, a knock with that included 12 hits to the fence and two over it, as he helped India to a commanding total of 294-all out. He shared important stands with three other players in the top order - 40 with Shaw, 95 with Gill and 83 with Sharma as India reached 218 for 2 in the 37th over.
However, while his partners kept changing, Rana stayed true to his game, rotating the strike and putting the bad balls away to bring up a deserving hundred. He had failed to make a big impact during the league stages, but proved his worth in the all-important semi-final.
India cantered home to an easy 77-run victory and will now face the winner of the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh tie in the final.
