India hold the edge in quarterfinal

DUBAI: Having won all their group stage matches convincingly, defending champions India will have a slight edge when they lock horns with England in the quarterfinals of the Under-19 World Cup here on Saturday.

In-form India had notched up a mammoth 245-run win over New Papua Guinea in their last round-robin match to top group A and having posted 300plus runs on a difficult batting wicket, the Vijay Zol-captained side will fancy its chances at the Dubai International Stadium.

India’s victory margin was the seventh-biggest in the history of youth One-day Internationals.

NOT A CAKEWALK England, though, will not be an easy meat as they also have proven players in their ranks, and who have impressed in the tournament.

The Indians kick-started their campaign with a 40-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan.

They struggled a bit against Scotland before pulling off a five-wicket win in their second match.

The holders roared back to form with a thrashing of New Papua Ginuea on a Sharjah track that was not one of the best for batting.

Leading the side, Zol has been having a decent outing, but the batsman to look out for in their last eight match will be Sanju Samson.

IPL EXPERIENCE

The 19-year-old, who plays for Rajasthan Royals in the cashrich Indian Premier League (IPL), had smashed his way to a 48-ball 85 against the hapless Papua New Guinea, giving enough indications about what the batsman is capable of when in form.