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Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S youth cricket team got their campaign to a disappointing start when they lost to hosts India by 148 runs in the Under-19 Quadrangular Series yesterday.Deepak Hooda produced a fine all-round performance to help the home team to their convincing win as the Zimbabweans fell terribly short in the run chase after India had won the toss and chose to bat.

Hooda sizzled with the bat smashing an unbeaten 83 and then grabbed two for 37 with his tight medium pacers while 15-year-old Sarfaraz Khan’s run-a-ball 55 was crucial for their total of 291 for six in their 50 overs.

Apart from Hooda and Sarfaraz, wicket-keeper Ankush Bains contributed a useful 49 off 62 balls at the top while Shreyas Iyer (28) and skipper Vijay Zol (17) couldn’t convert their starts.

Right-arm pacer Kieran Geyle (3/32) was the star performer for Zimbabwe with the ball, while Luke Jongwe picked up two wickets giving away 59 runs.

Defending the total, Indian bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals to bowl out Zimbabwe for a paltry 143 in 41.2 overs.  Ryan Burl was the top scorer for Zimbabwe with 46 runs while opener Dylan Nel made 22 runs on his youth ODI debut. There were also debuts for Deven Bell (13), Joylord Gumbie (9), Charles Kwinje (0) and Mkhululi Nyathi.

But they took home some tough lessons as India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets for 34 runs for the hosts, while Hooda (2/37), off-spinner Aamir Gani (2/37) and Sarfaraz (2/9) shared six wickets between them.

Zimbabwe’s chase was hampered early when Kuldeep Yadav dismissed the openers Nel and Gumbie with only 36 on the board and their recovery efforts were foiled by the Hooda-Gani combination again.

Off-spinner Gani’s double-strike in the 31st over accounted for the innings top-scorer Burl, for 46, and Luke Jongwe (0).  With the score at 116 for 5, Hooda dismissed Kwinje and later captain Malcolm Lake for 13. Yadav returned to finish off the tail, claiming two more wickets.

South Africa Under-19 beat Australia Under-19 in the other match by 17 runs, thanks to Bradley Dial’s all-round brilliance.