India bounced back from Sunday’s loss to the West Indies with a 68-run victory over Zimbabwe, despite a courageous century by all-rounder Malcolm Lake in an ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012 encounter on Tuesday. Lake clubbed 10 fours and five sixes in a 107-ball knock but his side was still dismissed for 198 after being set a 262 run target by India.

India’s right-armed medium-pacer Kamal Passi was outstanding with the ball, ripping through Zimbabwe’s top order and ended with figures of 8-1-23-6 which later earned him the player of the match award.

Lake said this performance was up there with the best he has batted. “I was excited about the hundred but just sad we couldn’t get it over the line,” he said.

Zimbabwe coach Chris Harris said he had worked with Lake for a number of years. “As your saw today he is a tremendous striker of the ball and I have always seen him as a match winner.

“He is a very good all-rounder, what helped him a little bit today was that he bowled very well and put together a very good spell for us which helped keep us in the game and from that he gained some confidence with the bat,” he said.

Earlier, India openers Prashant Chopra and captain Unmukt Chand provided their side a solid 139-run start. The middle-order batsmen made full use of the platform provided by the openers to help India finish at 261 for six in 50 overs.

Chand top scored with 78 (85b, 9x4, 3x6) while other notable batsmen were Chopra who scored 57 and Hanuman Vihari with 31 while for Zimbabwe Campbell Light finished with figures of three for 22 from seven overs.

South Africa’s de Kock and Bower hit centuries

South Africa showed little mercy against their smaller African neighbours Namibia at Peter Burge Oval in Brisbane, winning by a massive 222 runs margin.

Gauteng left-handed opener Quinton de Kock slammed an excellent 126 (106b, 13x4, 3x6) and captain Chad Bowes matched de Knock stroke by stroke while scoring 115 (115b, 11x4) as the two batsmen put on 212 runs for the first wicket which laid the foundation of South Africa’s 359 for nine

South Africa all-rounder Theunis de Bruyn later picked up four wickets for 20 with his off-spinners to dismiss the qualifiers for 137.

Bowes said they had set out to deliver a “clinical” performance today against the near neighbours. “We wanted to do everything as well as we could. There are still a few areas to work on with batting and bowling – we could have been a bit more ruthless to finish the game off earlier – but overall it was a solid performance.

“We didn’t want to give them a sniff. It was a case of showing that we mean business in this tournament. It can sometimes be tougher playing against the so-called minnows and the key for us is keeping the standards high and maintaining our intensity,” Bowes said.

Scores in Brief:

Group A - Australia beat Ireland by six wickets, Endeavour Park, Townsville
Ireland 129 all out, 42.5 overs (Ryan Hunter 31, Tyrone Kane 21; Alex Gregory 3-13, Shane Cassell 3-24, Gurinder Sandhu 2-35)
Australia 133 for four, 40.3 overs (Will Bosisto 36 not out, Sam Hain 26 not out, Travis Head 25)
Player of the Match - Shane Cassell (Australia)

Group B - New Zealand beat Afghanistan by eight runs, Kev Hackney Oval, Buderim
New Zealand 198 all out, 50 overs (Robert O'Donnell 69, Henry Walsh 52; Sayed Shirzad 4-34, Yamin Ahmadzai 4-35)
Afghanistan 190 for nine, 50 overs (Najibullah Zadran 69, Afsar Khan 42; Matthew Quinn 4-26, Jacob Duffy 4-40)
Player of the Match - Matthew Quinn (New Zealand)

Group C- India beat Zimbabwe by 63 runs, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
India 261 for six, 50 overs (Unmukt Chand 78, Prashant Chopta 57, Hanuman Vihari 31; Campbell Light 3-22)
Zimbabwe 198 all out, 44.1 overs (Malcolm Lake 118; Kamal Passi 6-23)
Player of the Match - Kamal Passi (India)

Group D - South Africa beat Namibia by 209 runs, Peter Burge Oval, Brisbane
South Africa 359 for six, 50 overs (Quinton de Kock 126, Chad Bowes 115, Gihahn Cloete 36 n.o.; Zhivago Groenewald 3-85, Andre Engelbrecht 2-57)
Namibia 150 all out, 46 overs (Pelham Myburgh 37, Zhivago Groenewald 26, Gerhard Erasmus 21; Theunis de Bruyn 4-20)
Player of the Match – Quinton de Kock (South Africa)