Defending champions India cruised to a 10-wicket win over neighbours and arch-rivals Pakistan in Potchefstroom on Tuesday to reach the Under-19 Cricket World Cup final for the seventh time.
India, the record four-time winners of the underage competition, dismissed Pakistan for 172 in 43.1 overs before comfortably knocking off the runs with 88 balls to spare.
India will play either New Zealand or Bangladesh, who meet in the second semifinal on Thursday, for the title at the same venue on Sunday. Pakistan will contest the third-place play-off in Benoni on Saturday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal struck an unbeaten 105 off 113 balls, completing his century and sealing the victory in style with a six over deep mid-wicket.
“It’s a dream come true for me. 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,” said Jaiswal.
Scores in brief
Pakistan U-19s: 172 all out in 43.1 overs (Haider 56, Nazir 62, Haris 21; Tyagi 2-32, Mishra 3-28, Bishnoi 2-46)
India U-19s: 176 for no loss in 35.1 overs (Jaiswal 105 not out, Saxena 59 not out)
Result: India U-19s won by 10 wickets.
Player-of-the-match: Yashasvi Jaiswal.
