India U-19 lose first ODI against England despite Rana ton

MUMBAI: Chasing 256, Himanshu Rana's 87-ball 101 went in vain as India U-19 succumbed to a 23-run defeat against England in the opening game of five-match Youth One-day International (ODI) series at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
After being put in to bat, England were in trouble at 13-3 and it seemed as though it was going to be a routine win for the Indian colts.But opener Harry Brook (51) and wicketkeeper-batsman Ollie Pope (37) put on a sturdy 85-run fourth wicket stand to get their team back on track.
Bermuda-born Delray Rawlins then stepped up to the plate slamming five sixes in his unbeaten 107 off 88 balls. His last six was so massive that it went above the players' dressing room in the grand stand which caused play to be halted till the ball was retrieved. Rawlins's 110-run partnership with skipper Matt Fisher for the seventh wicket ultimately won them the match.
The Indian colts seemed a bit distressed due to the sudden passing away of their trainer Rajesh Sawant due to a cardiac arrest. As a tribute to Sawant, the players wore black armbands.
Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Vivekanand Tiwari opened the bowling for the hosts and got a wicket each in their second over. A lot has been said about Mumbai lad Prithvi Shaw's fielding, or the lack of it. But he showed great concentration to take a low catch at second slip to dismiss George Bartlett off the bowling of Tiwari.
The overall fielding effort though wasn't great and in future games, the colts need to firm up in that department. Even coach Rahul Dravid was seen passing on a few words of advice to the fielders as walked alongside the boundary line.
Nagarkoti and captain Abhishek Sharma took two wickets apiece for the hosts while Tiwari, Rahul Chahar and Mayank Rawat scalped a wicket each.
In reply, India were off to a good start, with Rana finding the first boundary off the last ball of the third over. A lot of talk leading up to the match was regarding the batting prowess of Shaw. But the 17-year-old, who represented Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy this season, was caught behind for 9 off the bowling of Fisher. Shaw went for a drive on the up, but mistimed his shot.
Shubman Gill (29) then added 46 runs with Rana and things seemed to be going the hosts' way. But England came back strongly with skipper Fisher and Rawlins, this time shining with the ball, to trigger a middle-order collapse. Fisher in fact, was the star of the show with the ball, claiming impressive figures of 4-41.
Keeper Het Patel (20) and Nagarkoti (37) then added some valuable runs with Rana but they fell just short of the target.
Rawlins, who migrated to England at the age of 14, said he was delighted with his performance in the match, which was his debut.
"Coming from Bermuda at the age of 14 was obviously challenging, but I'm glad I did and thanks to the good people I'm here today. The conditions in Mumbai are quite challenging, but we've been training a lot and having camps too. I'm just glad we were able to win," he said.
Speaking about those powerful sixes, the 19-year-old said, "We had power-hitting sessions during a training camp in Dubai. And that clearly helped."
The teams play their second ODI at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) on Wednesday.
Brief Scores:England U-19 256/7 (Delray Rawlins 107*, Harry Brook 51, Ollie Pope 37; Kamlesh Nagarkoti 2-36) vs India U-19 233 all out in 42.5 overs (Himanshu Rana 101, Kamlesh Nagarkoti 37; Matthew Fisher 4-41)