File image of Yashasvi Jaiswal
Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal on Sunday became the second from his nation to score a century against Pakistan in the ICC U19 World Cup history. He reached the triple-figure mark at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom in the semi-final clash against India's familiar opponent. His unbeaten 105 helped India cruise comfortably to the target of 173 runs, scripting an emphatic 10-wicket win with 14.6 overs to spare.
Jaiswal joined Shubman Gill to become the second Indian to score a century against Pakistan in U19 World Cup clash. Gill had scored an unbeaten 102 in 2018 in Christchurch. Jaiswal also became the fourth batsman to score a century in U19 World Cup semifinal after four other Indians - Cheteshwar Pujara (129*), RS Ricky (108), and Gill. The century was also the first for India in the ongoing tournament.
After the Indian bowlers clinically restricted Pakistan to 172 with Sushant Mishra taking three wickets while Kartik Tyagi and Ravi Bishnoi shared two apiece.
In reply, the two openers - Jaiswal and Divyansh Saxena - took off cautiously - scoring only one boundary in their first six overs and the next in the 10th over. But the two stayed steady and cautiously negated everything thrown at them by Pakistan skipper Rohail Nazir, who earlier in the day scored a gritty 62. At one point, the skipper even got to lock the entire off side against Jaiswal to keep him quiet and make him go for desperate shots. But the Indian handled the pressure cleverly by shifting across the stumps and playing it through the leg side.
The pair stitched a record-breaking 176-run stand with Saxena getting his fifty as India became the first team to register a 10-wicket win in U19 World Cup history.
"It is a dream come true for me. Really happy with what I did for my country, I can't express it in words. I'll never forget that I scored a hundred in the World Cup against Pakistan," Jaiswal said after the match. "It is just the start though, I have to work really hard in the future as well. We (Saxena and me) were talking amongst ourselves that we needed to stay on the wicket. They bowled well initially and we had to see it out. All of us, our support staff, physio, manager, they put in the effort and I want to thank all the Indians who prayed for us. We will try our best in the finals."
