Maruf five-for restricts India to 251/7 in Bangladesh's U-19 WC opener

Left-arm medium pacer Maruf Mridha picked up a five-wicket haul to restrict India to 251/7 in Bangladesh's Under-19 World Cup opener at Bloemfontein oon Saturday.

Electing to field first, Bangladesh made the most of the early assistance in Bloemfontein. 

Maruf Mridha was on song with the new ball, and troubled the India batters with his left-arm angle. He accounted for all-rounder Arshin Kulkarni and Musheer Khan early in the innings to give the young Tigers an early advantage.

Adarsh Singh and skipper Uday Saharan then put their foot down, and ensured that India went ahead at a brisk pace. The left-right combination worked to perfection as the duo added 116 runs for the third wicket, overseeing two-thirds of the second Powerplay.

Adarsh (76) eventually fell while trying to loft Rizwan Chowdhury over mid-off.

Bangladesh were able to stem the flow of runs, and this resulted in another breakthrough, in the form of the set Saharan (64). Aravelly Avanish (23 from 17) starred with a cameo to add crucial runs in the death overs.

Another brisk knock from Sachin Dhas (26 from 20) helped add some crucial runs to the India total. Maruf returned to garner two more wickets, and ensured that India were restricted to 251/7.