ICC U19 World Cup: India Aim to Outclass Pakistan in High Octane Semifinal

Three-time champions India lead the head-to-head battle 12-8 against two-time champions Pakistan at the Under 19 level.

New Delhi: In-form India, who attained big margin victories in their previous matches, will be eager to deliver when they face arch-rivals Pakistan in the second semifinal of the ICC U-19 World Cup at the Hagley Oval, New Zealand on Tuesday. Three-time champions India have performed brilliantly and constantly in the ongoing tournament and won all four matches in emphatic fashion.

India will also have the psychological advantage as they lead the head-to-head battle 12-8 against two-time champions Pakistan at the Under 19 level, while one match ended in a tie. The last time both the sides clash against each other was at the 2014 U-19 World Cup where batsman Sanju Samson scored 68 runs to lead Men in Blue to victory. 

Also, while India outclassed Australia, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe before thrashing Bangladesh in the quarter-final to book themselves a semi-final spot, Pakistan, on the other hand, have had a bumpy ride till now as they lost their tournament opener to Afghanistan before winning three in a row. However, their last two results were narrow three wickets victories against Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Talking about the teams then, Indian, in the batting department, will bank on their right-handed batsman Shubman Gill, who has batted three times and passed 50 on each occasion. He has also scored most runs for the Indians in the tournament. The bowling will, however, rely on Anukul Roy, who is the leading wicket-taker for the side with 11 wickets from his four matches. Roy is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. In the fast-bowling department, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi will aim to bag maximum wickets.

On the other hand, Pakistan, who struggled to get runs on the board in the first game against Afghanistan, have come good with their batsmen Ali Zaryab Asif and Rohail Nazir leading the way with three 50s between them. However, pacer Shaheen Afridi, who is the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan, will need to be on song against the in-form Indian batting line-up to help his side produce a positive result.

Squads:

India: Prithvi Shaw (C), Shubman Gill, Aryan Juyal, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Harvik Desai, Manjot Kalra, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pankaj Yadav, Riyan Parag, Ishan Porel, Himanshu Rana, Anukul Roy, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh.

Pakistan: Hasan Khan (c), Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Ali Khan, Ammad Alam, Zaid Alam, Ali Zaryab, Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Mohsin Khan, Muhammad Musa, Saad Khan, Rohail Nazir (wk), Munir Riaz, Suleman Shafqat, Imran Shah, Mohammad Taha. (With Wires inputs)