The Indian Under 19 Cricket Team produced a dominating display to crush Pakistan by 10 wickets in the first semi-finals of the Super League stage played at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom on Tuesday.
Pakistan captain Rohail Nazir won the toss and decided to bat first. The Indian bowlers were up to the mark right from word go. Sushant Mishra got the breakthrough dismissing Muhammad Huraira cheaply for 4. Haider Ali played some lovely strokes putting pressure on Indian bowlers. The leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi was bought into the attack in the 7th over. Farhad Munir could not rotate the strike and played a poor stroke. At the end of 10 overs, Pakistan were 36 for 2.
After the power play overs, Haider Ali and captain Rohail Nazir looked to play with confidence taking singles and hitting occasional boundaries. Ali struggled against the Indian pacers which made life tough for the Pakistani batsmen. Both Ali and Nazir gained confidence with attacking stroke play. Haider reached his fifty off 70 balls with a boundary. Jaiswal provided the breakthrough for India dismissing well set Haider for 56. Haider and Rohail added 62 runs for the 3rd wicket.
The Indian bowlers kept it tight and made life tough for Pakistani batsmen. A big miscommunication ended in a run out of Qasim Akram. Mohammad Haris came to the crease and played some big shots before being brilliantly caught by Divyaansh Saxena for 21 off 15 balls. Pakistani captain Nazir reached his first fifty off the tournament from 84 balls. Karthik Tyagi produced a brilliant yorker to dismiss Irfan Khan.
Sushant Mishra, Karthik Tyagi did the job for the Indian team to bowl out Pakistan for 172 in 43.1 overs. Sushant Mishra, Karthik Tyagi, Ravi Bishnoi, Anokolekar and Jaiswal took wickets.
Chasing a modest total of 173 runs to win, the Indian openers Jaiswal and Divyaansh Saxena started on a cautious note hitting the bad balls away for boundaries and respecting the good balls. At the end of 10 overs, India were 33 for 0.
After the power play overs, Jaiswal and Saxena played with confidence making sure there was no pressure. The left-handed Jaiswal exploded with his big-hitting to reach his fifty off 66 balls with a boundary. Saxena gave full support to Jaiswal and took on the Pakistani bowlers who looked flat. Saxena also completed his fifty off 83 balls. Jaiswal continued his aggressive style and made his 100 off 113 balls with a six. India dominated Pakistan to win the first semi-finals by 10 wickets with 88 balls to spare.
India Under 19 176 for 0 in 35.2 overs (Jaiswal 105*, Saxena 59*, Tahir Hussain 0/17) beat Pakistan Under 19 172 in 43.1 overs ( Rohail Nazir 62, Haider Ali 56, Sushant Mishra 3/28, Karthik Tyagi 2/32) by 10 wickets.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was awarded the player of the match for his 105*. The Indian team will face the winner of 2nd semi-finals between Bangladesh and New Zealand to be played on 6th February.
