Heavyweights India U-19 booked their berth in the knockout round of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup with a dominating 120-run victory over New Zealand at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Fast bowler Avesh Khan rocked the New Zealand batting lineup with a deadly spell upfront after Sarfaraz’s 74 off 80 and contributions from the middle and lower-order guided India to 258/8. Avesh (4/32) snared four wickets in his opening spell of seven overs and gave away just 13 runs. With Avesh picking wickets, his new ball partner Khaleel Ahmed mounted pressure from the other end, as the two did not concede a run off the bat for about 37 balls. There was no respite for the batsmen as once the spinners were introduced into the attack, the fall of wickets only hastened. Left-arm spinner Mahipal Lomror, who scored 45, struck thrice in his first four overs while leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari picked his first wicket in just his second over with a googly. New Zealand were bowled out for 138 in 31.3 overs when Lomror picked up the last wicket to finish with a five-for. Earlier, a similar story unfolded before India posted a challenging total on the board. The team recovered from a shaky start that saw two of the top-three batters being dismissed for single-digit scores. Captain Ishan Kishan and one-drop Ricky Bhui were back in the dugout with just 19 on the board as the Kiwis began promisingly after electing to bat first. Rishab Pant cracked a half-century in the company of Sarfaraz as the two added 89 runs for the third wicket. Although Pant was caught at third-man in the 27th over, India put on another important partnership of 48 runs between Sarfaraz and Armaan Jaffer (46 from 49 balls). Sarfaraz, who had weathered the storm earlier, played some delightful shots down the ground. He took India out of a hole with a mature batting display and brought up his half-century in just 60 balls with the help of seven boundaries. With Sarfaraz in the middle, India, brought up 150 in the 33rd over. Run-rate too began to move upwards as India who took 95 balls to get to fifty, got to 100 and 150-run mark in 55 and 47 balls respectively. Just when Sarfaraz was looking set for a big score, a momentary lapse of concentration cut short his stay in the middle. Looking to cut the ball, Sarfaraz ended up chopping it onto his stumps and was out for 74. India lost Washington Sundar with 165 on the board but the lower order put up another strong show. India will now face Nepal in their last group game on Monday. The Nepal U19s have qualified for the next round as well after their back-to-back victories against New Zealand and Ireland. Brief score: India U19 258 (Sarfaraz Khan 74, Rishabh Pant 57, Arman Jaffer 46, Zak Gibson 3/50) beat New Zealand U19 (Christian Leopard 40, Mahipal Lomror 5/47, Avesh Khan 4/32)by 120 runs