India, Kiwis aim to progress from Group D in U-19 WC

Dubai : Three-time champion India and New Zealand have been aiming to take the top two positions in Group D at the expense of Ireland and Nepal in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 .The biennial 16-nation tournament features nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members – Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland.Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League quarter-finals and the other two qualifying for the Plate Championships.India, coached by batting great Rahul Dravid, features high among the top contenders to bag the trophy which it has previously won in 2000, 2008 and 2012. India failed to defend the title two years ago in the United Arab Emirates after England stunned it in the quarter-finals.India arrived in Bangladesh with a power-packed batting line-up that includes Sarfaraz Khan, one of the country’s brightest young batsmen.Sarfaraz Khan along with Ricky Bhui and Avesh Khan will make their second appearance in the premier age-group tournament, having also participated in 2014. Another batsman that will be noticed in Bangladesh is Armaan Jaffer.Under Dravid’s guidance, India’s teenagers have won a tri-series in Sri Lanka before Christmas last year that also featured England and defeated both Afghanistan and Bangladesh at home in November.Expressing his views on the tournament, Dravid said, “Ours is a decent side with a lot of promising players. The conditions in Bangladesh will be quite similar to what the boys have grown up on in India, so that should be beneficial to the side.” India will be captained by Ishan Kishan, a left-handed batsman and wicketkeeper, who hails from World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s home state of Jharkhand.New Zealand captain Josh Finnie also featured in the 2014 event where his side finished 10th, but he is confident of a better show this time.