Get ready for another India-Pakistan contest at a cricket World Cup. This time, it is in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.
Today (January 26), on Republic Day, India thrashed Bangladesh by 131 runs in the quarter-final to seal a spot in the last-four. Shubman Gill was the star with the bat scoring 86 off 94 with nine boundaries while Abhishek Sharma impressed with an all-round show (50 and two wickets).
This is for the seventh time that India have made it to the semi-finals of Under-19 World Cup. In the last edition, they had reached the final where they lost to West Indies.
#U19CWC India beat Bangladesh by 131 runs to clinch the fourth and final spot in the semi-finals!
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 26, 2018
The boys will face Pakistan in the semi-final on January 30th. pic.twitter.com/0IyGcFwxSS
Congratulations to the India under-19 boys on yet another comprehensive win and booking a place in the #U19CWC semi-finals against Pakistan.#INDvBAN
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 26, 2018
Prithvi Shaw-led India have been unbeaten in the tournament so far. The Rahul Dravid-coached side has been in top form, demolishing the opponents. They started the campaign with a 100-run win over Australia and since then have been on a roll.
In the quarter-final at Queenstown on Friday, India were bowled out for 265 in 49.2 overs. In reply, Bangladesh were bundled out for 134 in 42.1 overs. Paceman Kamlesh Nagarkoti took 3/18 in 7.1 overs.
Skipper Shaw said, "The fast bowlers and spinners executed our plans very well. It's really good to pick up wickets in the power-plays. The plan was quite simple with our batting – look for the singles and rotate the strike.
"We had a good total on the board, so we decided to play with intensity and to remain in the game till the last wicket fell."
Man-of-the-match Gill said, "We remembered our loss in the Asia Cup and so were determined to win the match today. As for the Pakistan game, we are looking forward to the match since we did not play them in the Asia Cup. We're sure it will be a good match."
India face Pakistan in the second semi-final on Tuesday (January 30) in Christchurch.
Scores in brief
India Under-19 - 265 all out in 49.2 overs (Shubman Gill 86, Abhishek Sharma 50, Prithvi Shaw 40, Harvik Desai 34, Qaz Onik 3/48, Saif Hassan 2/41, Nayeem Hasan 2/36) beat Bangladesh Under-19 - 134 all out in 42.1 overs (Pinak Ghosh 43, Kamlesh Nagarkoti 3/18, Abhishek Sharma 2/11, Shivam Mavi 2/27)
Semi-final fixtures
January 29 (Monday) - Australia vs Afghanistan (Christchurch) - 3 AM IST - Live on Star Sports
January 30 (Tuesday) - India vs Pakistan (Christchurch) - 3 AM IST - Live on Star Sports
Final on February 3 - Saturday (6.30 AM IST) - Tauranga
