Gill, Shaw tons help India sew up series

The India Under-19s started the series with a sub-par batting performance at the Wankhede Stadium. As the series has progressed though, their batting has consistently improved. On Monday morning, a few hours after a sensational comeback win by the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 51, India's batsmen put on a show there was no coming back from for the England Under-19s. Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw struck belligerent tons to lift India to 382 for 9, their second-highest total at this level, sealing a 231-run win in the fourth ODI to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.

Despite plenty of grass on the surface, run-scoring didn't prove to be difficult even with an early start. Gill and Himanshu Rana got stuck into their work from the outset, keeping out a few good deliveries and putting away plenty of bad ones. Lulled in by the colour of the pitch, England's seamers bowled far too short. The India openers were unforgiving, using wayward bowling to race to another brisk fifty-run stand, off 48 balls.

Rana was dismissed by left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White in the 16th over, for 33 off 50 balls. His innings may seem like a dawdle but in the big picture, he had done his job, weathering the toughest phase of the day. Gill and Shaw then combined to lay waste to an increasingly tiring attack. Gill was strong on the pull, hammering plenty of cross-bat strokes through midwicket and square leg. There was even a short-arm slap between mid-on and midwicket.

Gill got to his fifty off 48 balls, and Shaw in 36 deliveries. Subsequently, Gill took the onus of run-scoring and Shaw played anchor. Gill needed just 33 balls to move from fifty to hundred while Shaw used 45; both batsmen reached their hundreds off 81 deliveries. None of England's boundary-stalling strategies worked; the pitch was evenly paced and the bowling too inconsistent. Shaw got to his hundred with a whip through midwicket for one, and celebrated by tapping the back of his jersey with his bat.

At the start of the 41st over, Gill danced down and smashed an offbreak from Max Holden over long-on for six. He was dropped at cover off the next ball, skewing a drive that was just out of reach of the backtracking fielder. In the same over, India reached 300. Gill was finally dismissed, miscuing a lofted drive to cover, for 160 off 120 balls, an innings that featured 23 fours and a six. Shaw holed out three balls later: a juggled catch by Louis Shaw at long-on, for an 89-ball 105.

England's slight opening was quickly shut by brisk cameos from India's middle order. Abhishek Sharma struck two big sixes off Delray Rawlins over midwicket in his 10-ball 24, before he was caught at short fine leg attempting another. India plundered 132 runs in the last 15 overs.

In reply, England were never really in the contest. Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi removed England's top four within nine overs. Harry Brook was adjudged lbw in the second over, to his disbelief. Two balls later, George Bartlett wafted at a wide delivery and was caught behind. Mavi got through Tom Banton's defense in the next over, uprooting the middle stump. Rawlins, England's best batsman of the series, mis-timed a pull and was caught at mid-off. By then, England slumped to 41 for 4.

With the game all but gone, Ollie Pope used the opportunity to strike a fluent 59. He was excellent at using width to cut through point, both in front of and behind the fielder. Holden, who was demoted to No. 6, struggled to score against the spinners. He was bowled, playing around a legbreak from Rahul Chahar, for 17. Will Jacks hit an enterprising 44 off 49 balls, including a massive six over midwicket that landed in the second tier. Nagarkoti finished with 4 for 31, while fast bowler Vivekanand Tiwari returned 3 for 20.