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The Ambati Rayudu-led India Under-19 team cantered to a mammoth 270-run win over a hapless Scotland line-up in their opening match of the Un...

The Ambati Rayudu-led India Under-19 team cantered to a mammoth 270-run win over a hapless Scotland line-up in their opening match of the Under-19 World Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka today, according to reports reaching here. Batting first, India set Scotland a target of 426 runs and Scotland never appeared to give the target a shot. They played out their quota of overs though, finishing on 155 for the loss of eight wickets.

The match was pretty much over after the first half of the match 8212; a superlative display of batting where none of the five Indian batsmen on show scored at a strike rate of less than 100. Left-handed Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan led the charge against a modest bowling attack, scoring an unbeaten 155 from just 138 balls. Dhawan carried his bat through the Indian innings and was awarded the man-of-the-match award for his all-around-the-ground strokeplay.

Two others, Dhawan8217;s opening partner Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina, were unlucky to miss out on centuries, Uthappa getting out on 97 and Raina on 90, both going for over-ambitious strokes. Uthappa was the first to go, going after a delivery outside his leg-stump and back-edging it to bowler Ian Young. But by then he had scored 97 and the opening pair had accounted for 175 runs. Significantly, in just 24.1 overs.

The momentum remained with skipper Ambati Rayudu scoring a quick 53 from 51 balls and then shot up beyond any expectation with the advent of Suresh Raina. The UP batsman played an unbelievable knock of 90 from just 38 balls. His extraordinary effort 8212; between overs 38 and 47 8212; contained 14 boundaries and two sixes. Around all the mayhem, Dhawan went about his business in a most workmanlike way, escorting the team total to 425. 425, interestingly, is the second highest score ever recorded in the youth World Cup.

For the Scots, the only bright spot in the field, if it can be called that, was in the form of skipper Kyle Coetzer. Despite going for 67 from his seven overs 8212; he impressed with occasional flashes of brilliance.