POTCHEFSTROOM (South Africa): Yashasvi Jaiswal struck an unbeaten 105 off 113 balls as India crushed Pakistan by 10 wickets on Tuesday to reach the Under-19 World Cup final for the seventh time.
India, record four-time winners, dismissed Pakistan for 172 in 43.1 overs before comfortably knocking off the runs with 88 balls to spare.
India will play either New Zealand or Bangladesh, who meet in the second semifinal, in the final at the same venue on Sunday.
Pakistan will contest the third-place play-off in Benoni on Saturday.
“It’s a dream come true for me. To be able to do this for my country is a great feeling. To score a hundred against Pakistan in a World cup semifinal is something I can’t put into words,” said Jaiswal. “They bowled well initially and we wanted to ride that out and we knew we could dominate them after that.”
Left-hander Jaiswal, who was snapped up by the Rajasthan Royals in the 2020 IPL auction, smacked eight fours and four sixes as he took over as the tournament’s leading runscorer.
He was supported by Divyaansh Saxena (59 not out), his second fifty of the competition.
Jaiswal earlier picked up the key wicket of Pakistan opener Haider Ali (56) with his part-time legspin as Pakistan collapsed from 96 for two in an innings where just three players made double digits.
Ali and captain Rohail Nazir (62) helped Pakistan recover after losing Mohammad Huraira and Fahad Munir cheaply, but only Mohammad Haris, who hit a brisk 21 off 15 balls, provided any additional contribution.
Left-arm seamer Sushant Mishra took 3-28 while right-arm quick Kartik Tyagi and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi collected two wickets apiece.
“The pitch was good, and we didn’t put enough runs on the board,” said Nazir. “I think Haider and I had a great partnership, we were at a good position at the 25-over mark.”
