India secured their berth in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2020 final with a thumping 10-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first semi-final at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom on Tuesday (February 4).
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Asked to bowl first, the Boys in Blue bundled out the arch-rivals for a paltry 172 with Sushant Mishra (3/28), Kartik Tyagi (2/32) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/46) doing the bulk of the damage.
Chasing the target, India rode on Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dazzling century (105 not out off 113 balls) and Divyansh Saxena’s unbeaten 99-ball 59 to cross the line in 35.2 overs.
“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, who was adjudged Player-of-the-Match, said at the presentation ceremony.
“It is just the start though, I have to work really hard in the future as well,” he added.
Talking about his unbroken opening stand with Saxena, Jaiswal said: “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.”
The southpaw concluded by thanking the fans for their constant support and hoped for a brilliant outing in the summit clash.
“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,” he said.
India will face the winner of second semi-final between Bangladesh or New Zealand in the final on Sunday (February 9).
(With IANS inputs)
