India registered a cruising 10-wicket victory in the semifinal of the U19 World Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan. The high-voltage clash between the two leading nations in world cricket ended on a highly one-sided note as Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Divyaansh Saxena remained unbeaten in a 173-run chase.
While Jaiswal scored 105, Saxena remained not out on 59.
India were at the top from the very beginning of the game after Pakistan opted to bat. Pacers Kartik Tyagi and Sushant Mishra wreaked havoc on the Pakistan batting line-up as they found significant swing movement in the initial overs.
Opener Mohammad Huraira (4) and Fahad Munir (0) were dismissed early before Haider Ali (56) and captain Rohail Nazir (62) stabilized the Pakistan innings with a 62-run stand. Indian captain Priyam Garg then made an unorthodox choice to bring Yashasvi Jaiswal into bowling, who struck with the wicket of Ali.
His wicket triggered a batting collapse for Pakistan, as the side lost its next seven wickets within 74 runs.
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 Yashasvi (1/11 in 3 overs) also kept the rival batsmen under check.
Tyagi, probably one of the fastest bowlers in India in his age category, bowled an inswinging yorker wide off crease to uproot Irfan Khan's off-stump and then got his second wicket with an intimidating bouncer that removed tail-ender Tahir Hussain.
In between, Bishnoi bowled his fast googlies to get rid of Fahad Munir (0) and Abbas Afridi (2).
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 that had nine fours.
Skipper Rohail did scratch around and got a fifty but never for once did he look in any sort of control and was holed out at square leg.
In the chase, Jaiswal and Saxena never looked in hurry as they continued to bat with grit and patience. India scored only 33 runs in the first ten overs, but the openers upped the tempo since, and Jaiswal in particular took on the charge as he reached his half-century in the 22nd over of the match.
Saxena also followed suit as the duo took the game away from their arch-rivals with the partnership. The opener reached his fifty in the 30th over of the game, after which Jaiswal finally decided to open his arms to smack two consecutive sixes off Abbas Afridi. During this innings, Jaiswal also became the highest-scorer in the tournament so far.
India won the game in the 36th over of the innings. The side will now take either New Zealand or Bangladesh in the final.
