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Sports

ICC U-19 World Cup: India crush Pakistan to set up final vs Australia

indiatoday.in

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India on Tuesday thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by 203 runs in the semi-final of the ICC U-19 World Cup at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

India made it to the final for a record sixth time and will now take on Australia in the summit clash on Saturday.

Prithvi Shaw-led Inida won the toss and opted to bat first and posted 272 for 9 on the board thanks to Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 102 off 94 balls.

Manjot Kalra (47) and Prithvi (41) also made useful contributions for the three-time champions.

The Indian bowlers, led by pacer Ishan Porel, then destroyed the Pakistan batting lineup and bowled them out for just 69 in 29.3 overs. Porel finished with 4 for 17 in six overs while off-spinners Shiva Singha and Riyan Parag got two wickets each.

Gill was adjudged Man of the Match for his outstanding performance with the bat.

“I think this innings I’ll rnak pretty igh. It was a special innings in a big match against Pakistan. I thought 250-260 would be a good-enough total for the pacers to defend. Nowadays cricket is all about adaptability. I’d like to play all three formats. Looking forward to playing Australia in the final,” Gill said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“I think it was a good all-round performance, we did a great job,” said Prithvi.

“The plan was simple – just look for the loose balls and convert it into boundaries. First-class you get really good experience playing with guys who have already played for India,so it’s a great experience. Facing Australia will be a good challenge.Let’s see what happens,” he added.

Australia, who lost to India in their first match, reached the final after defeating Afghanistan in their last-four encounter at Christchurch on Monday. The final will be played at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Saturday. Both India and Australia have won the tournament three times each.

India maintained their dominant run in the tournament and bettered their head-to-head record over Pakistan to 13-8. India had earlier defeated Australia, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe in the group stage before outclassing Bangladesh in the quarter-finals last week.

Over the years, several Youth ODI stars have gone on to represent their countries at the senior level. Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are just a few examples of young colts who have made a mark for themselves at the highest level.

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