Pakistan U19 skipper Rohail Nazir has elected to bat after winning the toss in the first semifinal of ICC Under-19 World Cup 2020 against India in Potchefstroom. Both teams are so for undefeated in the tournament.
Two-time champions Pakistan beat Afghanistan by six wickets on in the quarterfinal to reach the last four. Having skittled out the Afghan side to 189 thanks to a promising bowling display, Pakistan rode on debutant opener Mohammad Huraira’s unbeaten 64 to chase down the target in 41.1 overs.
They earlier finished at the second position in Group C with five points, beating minnows Scotland and Zimbabwe comprehensively before their last league match against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
Defending champions India, who finished as Group A toppers, thrashed Australia by 74 runs in the quarterfinal. Yashavsi Jaiswal continued his fine form with a majestic 62, his fourth half-century in the competition, while Atharva Ankolekar hit 55 not out as India managed 233-9 before bundling out Australia for 43.3 overs, thanks to a four-wicket haul from Kartik Tyagi.
This is the 10th World Cup meeting between archrivals, with Pakistan leading the head-to-head record 5-4. India, however, have won three of the last four games against Pakistan.
In the last meeting between the two sides, in the semifinal of the 2018 World Cup, India secured an overwhelming 204-run win to reach final, where they beat Australia to lift the trophy for the fourth time.
Playing XIs:
Pakistan:
Rohail Nazir (Captain and Wicketkeeper), Fahad Munir, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Haris, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Haider Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Tahir Hussain, Amir Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan
India:
Priyam Garg (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma, Akash Singh, Divyaansh Saxena, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Siddhesh Veer, Sushant Mishra, Atharva Ankolekar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kartik Tyagi
