Aaryavir Sehwag, Lakshya Raichandani And Ishan Sood Power India U-19 To 10-Wicket Win Over Nepal In Asia Cup Opener

India trounced Nepal by 10 wickets in their tournament opener of the U-19 Asia Cup one-day cricket tournament on Friday, riding on unbeaten half-centuries from Aaryavir Sehwag and Lakshya Raichandani. India reached 129 for no loss in 19.1 overs and won with 185 balls to spare.

Sehwag, who is the son of legendary India player Virender Sehwag, finished on 70 not out and Raichandani made 53 not out as India overhauled the target with ease.

The emphatic win gave India a flying start to their campaign after the bowlers had bundled Nepal out for 128. India will face Pakistan in their next match on Sunday.

Nepal Innings

Put in to bat first, they slipped to 51 for four and spent the rest of the innings trying to recover. Darsh Sonar offered resistance with a watchful 43 off 93 balls, hitting one four and one six, while Aashish Luthar made 29.

India kept the pressure on throughout. Nepal were eventually bowled out for 128 in 42.3 overs after Ishan Sood returned 3/18 and Arjun Rajput took 3/8.

Sood did the early damage. He struck at the top of the order and broke the back of Nepal's batting, while Rajput cleaned up the lower order late in the innings.

Sehwag, Raichandani Chase

India made light work of the target. The chase began confidently with Raichandani taking the early initiative and keeping the scoreboard moving. Nepal never found a way back as India's openers dominated from the start and shut the door on any contest.

Sehwag soon took charge. He hammered 70 not out off 52 balls, lacing his innings with seven fours and four sixes as India surged towards the target.

Raichandani matched him with a composed unbeaten knock of 53 off 63 balls. He found the fence seven times as the opening pair completed the chase in 19.1 overs without losing a wicket.

Brief scores: Nepal U-19 128 in 42.3 overs lost to India U-19 129/0 in 19.1 overs by 10 wickets