Defending champions India beat Pakistan in the semifinal of the U19 World Cup in Potchefstroom on Tuesday, with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (105*) and Divyansh Saxena (59*) finishing the match with 14.4 overs to spare. Jaiswal brought up his ton and the winning runs with a six in the 36th over.
The second semifinal will be played between New Zealand and Bangladesh on Thursday before the title clash of the U19 World Cup on Sunday. India will be contesting their third consecutive U19 World Cup final. They finished runners-up four years ago but were champions under Prithvi Shaw in the last edition.
Chasing a modest 173 for a place in the final, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Divyansh Saxena got going from the word go and never looked ruffled in their partnership. They put up 33 runs in the powerplay overs, and then got into a different gear as the part-timers came on.
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Pakistan, struggling to find ways to put pressure on their arch-rivals, were undone by the attacking intent showed by Jaiswal, whose knock had four sixes. Jaiswal also became the leading run scorer in the tournament with his knock in the semi final. His ton was the first ton by an Indian in the tournament.
In the first innings, Indian bowlers produced a brilliant performance under pressure to dismiss Pakistan for 172. Pacer Kartik Tyagi (2/32 in 8 overs) bowled yorkers at will while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2/46 in 10 overs) was a difficult proposition to read.
Pakistan skipper Rohail Nazir (62 off 102 balls) and opener Haider Ali (56 off 77 balls) were the only ones to make a significant contribution as the innings lasted 43.1 overs. The only time Pakistan looked to be gaining some foothold was during the 62-run stand between Haider and Rohail before Yashasvi’s part-time leg-breaks saw the end of opener’s effort.
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While Tyagi’s scorching pace and Bishnoi’s googlies were eye-catching, left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar (1/29 in 7 overs), left-arm seamer Sushant Mishra (3/28 in 8.1 overs) and part-time leg-spinner Yashasvi Jaiswal (1/11 in 3 overs) also kept the rival batsmen under check.
(With PTI inputs)
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