Potchefstroom: After being asked to bat first, India kept Pakistan in check with two quick wickets. At the end of 25 overs, Pakistan scored 95 runs for the loss of two wickets with Haider Ali (56*) and Rohail Nazir (28*) remaining not out at the crease. For India, Sushant Mishra and Ravi Bishnoi picked up a wicket apiece.
Defending World Champions India are favourites in the crucial ICC U19 World Cup semi-final match against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Both the teams remain unbeaten while heading into the all-important match. While India beat Australia in the quarterfinals, Pakistan outplayed Afghanistan.
Pakistan U19 skipper Rohail Nazir guessed the toin correctly and opted to bat first. Both teams remain unchanged from their quaterfinal match.
Pitch Report: The pitch has a few grass patches, but the surface underneath looks hard. The ball should come on nicely for batsmen to enjoy. Pacers should have their say with lateral movement and bounce. We did see the spinners get some turn here before.
What did the captains say?
Rohail Nazir (Pakistan): This is the semi-final and we have to make a mark. It's a game against India and we both really are looking forward to it. Hopefully we will have a good match and we are playing the same team.
Priyam Garg (India): I'm actually looking forward to bowl first. There is lot of hype among the fans. No changes for us, we are playing the same team that played against Australia.
TEAM NEWS:
Pakistan U19 (Playing XI): Haider Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Rohail Nazir(w/c), Fahad Munir, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Haris, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Tahir Hussain, Aamir Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan
India U19 (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Divyansh Saxena, Tilak Varma, Priyam Garg(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Siddhesh Veer, Atharva Ankolekar, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh
