India rode on Gaurav Dhiman's all-round performance to cruise to a 126-run victory over the West Indies and move into the semi-finals in the Under-19 cricket World Cup at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo on Saturday.
India posted a formidable 284 for 9 in the stipulated 50 overs before bowling out their rivals for 158 in 38.5 overs.
Dhiman struck a quickfire 77 off 56 balls and then scalped three West Indian batsmen to script a convincing victory for India in the quarter-final tie.
India elected to bat first and openers Dhiman and C Pujara (94, 134 b, 9x4s) provided a flying start to the former champions, adding 110 runs for the first wicket in 13.5 overs.
Dhiman was especially ruthless, hitting 10 fours and three sixes in is knock.
Yesterday's man-of-the-match Rohit Sharma again clicked with the bat, notching another half century. His 50, off 57 balls, was studded with six boundaries.
Speedster J Searles was the pick of the West Indian bowlers, bagging six for 68.
The run chase was never easy for the West Indians as Indian new ball bowlers V Yomahesh (4/25) and Dhiman (3/27) delivered the goods early on, reducing their opponents to a sorry 68 for 7.
Barring opener A Fletcher (44), none could make a substantial contribution for their side although the tail-enders did put up some resistance before being bowled out.
Dhiman was adjudged man-of-the-match.
Australia, England and Pakistan also made it into the semi-finals.
In other quarter-final matches played on Saturday, Australia trounced Sri Lanka by nine wickets, England beat Bangladesh by five wickets and Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets.
Brief scores:
India 284 for 9 in 50 overs (C Pujara 94, G Dhiman 77, R Sharma 50; J Searles 6/68) beat West Indies 158 all out in 38.5 overs (A Fletcher 44, S Narine 29; V Yomahesh 4/25, Dhiman 3/27, Bipinbhai 2/21). Scorecard
Sri Lanka 177 all out in 46.3 overs (P Cooray 43, K Karunanayake 36, A Mathews 32; Henriques 4/22, Keen 2/37, McNamara 2/37) lost to Australia 178 for 1 in 26.1 overs (T Cooper 84 not out, M Henriques 79; S Serasinghe 1/22). Scorecard
Bangladesh 155 all out in 48.2 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 27, Shamsur Rahman 22; S Mullaney 3/26, Miller 2/24) lost to England 156 for 5 in 43.3 overs (V Chopra 40, M Nelson 32; S Shuvo 2/25, Mehrab Hossain Jr 2/33). Scorecard
Zimbabwe 181 all out in 49.3 overs (K Samunderu 46, K Meth 33; Riaz Kail 4/29, Anwar Ali 3/25) lost to Pakistan 185 for 5 in 48 overs (M Ibrahim 39, Rameez Raja 39, R Kail 26 not out; G Qerl 2/29, R Benade 2/33). Scorecard
