India thrash Pakistan to enter U19 WC final

KARACHI: India blanked Pakistan by 10 wickets in their Under-19 World Cup semi-final match at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom (South Africa), on Tuesday.

India chased down the 173-run target with 88 balls to spare as Yashasvi Jaiswal cracked 105 not out from 113 balls, hitting eight fours and four sixes. His partner Divyaansh Saxena made 59 off 99 balls.

For his match-winning knock, Jaiswal was named the man of the match. Jaiswal completed his century and sealed the victory in style with a six over deep mid-wicket. India, the record four-time winners of the underage competition, dismissed Pakistan for 172 in 43.1 overs.

Batting first after winning the toss, Pakistan failed to make most of the opportunity as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Mohammad Huraira, the quarter-final hero, fell for four while Fahad Munir perished for a duck.

Captain Rohail Nazir and Haider Ali scored 62 for the third wicket. Haider made 56 from 77 balls, hitting nine fours, while Rohail top-scored for Pakistan with 102-ball 62.

Haider’s dismissal to part timer Jaiswal triggered a collapse as Pakistan lost their last seven wickets for 76 runs. Rohail, however, held one end before his dismissal in the 42nd over.

Qasim Akram was run out for nine, Mohammad Haris fell for 21, while Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Tahir Hussain and Aamir Ali failed to impress.

For India, Sushant Mishra was the star bowler with three for 28 in 8.1 overs. Kartik Tyagi and Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets each.

Pakistan will play the losing team of the second Super League semi-final in the play-off for the third place in Benoni on February 8.

India will play either New Zealand or Bangladesh, who meet in the second semi-final, for the title at the same venue on Sunday.

Pakistan collapsed from 96 for two in an innings where just three players made double digits. “The pitch was good, and we didn’t put enough runs on the board,” said Pakistan skipper Nazir. “I think Haider and I had a great partnership, we were at a good position at the 25-over mark, but Haider got out at a crucial point, and the rest of the batsmen weren’t able to take enough responsibility.

“We learn from all our mistakes, and the boys are confident and happy that we played some good cricket in the tournament,” said Rohail.

Jaiswal said his century was a dream come true for him. “To be able to do this for my country is a great feeling. To score a hundred against Pakistan in a World cup semi-final is something I can’t put into words,” he added. “They bowled well initially and we wanted to ride that out and we knew we could dominate them after that.”