Ireland Under-19s well beaten but not embarrassed by India

India 268/9 beat Ireland 189 by 79 runs

Ireland lost by 79 runs in their opening Under-19 Cricket World Cup fixture against India on Thursday, but Ryan Eagleson’s side were far from embarrassed in Dhaka.

Having won the toss Ireland, playing in the tournament thanks to a late invite from the ICC, invited India to bat and got off to a flying start.

16-year-old Pembroke left-armer Josh Little had Indian captain Ishan Kishan caught behind in the opening over, and soon Ireland had reduced Rahul Dravid’s side to 55-4 after 17 overs.

However the tide quickly turned on a slow wicket and a fifth wicket stand of 110 between Sarfaraz Khan (74) and Washington Sundar (62) helped India to 268-9 after their 50 overs.

Ireland's response got off to a catashtrophic start, with Jack Tector and Stephen Doheny both run out, before Adam Dennison (20) and Gary McClintock (17) were both dismissed.

This brought Lorcan Tucker (57) and William McClintock (58) together, and the two set about re-building the Irish innings, their stand of 113 meaning for a short while India's 268 seemed within reach.

However after McClintock was stumped trying to up the run-rate Ireland began to unravel, their final six wickets falling for just 30 runs, with Lorcan the last man out.

Despite the margin of their loss, Ireland will be buyoed by their performance against one of the best sides in the tournament. Skipper Tector said:"We started the game very well with the ball and then also had a few partnerships which bodes well for the future."

Next up Ireland take on Nepal, who caused the first major upset of the tournament by beating New Zealand by 32 runs in their opener.