Shubman Gill and Ishan Porel came up with crucial performances to help India thrash Pakistan and seal a place in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Christchurch on Tuesday (January 30).
Gill’s unbeaten ton helped India reach 272 for 9 before Porel landed the knockout punch early on in the chase. Rattled early on, all Pakistan could manage was just 69 – their lowest score in Under-19 World Cup – to slip to a 203-run loss.
Opting to bat, India got off to a solid start. Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra scored 89 for the opening wicket inside 16 overs to put Pakistan under pressure. Pakistan, to their credit, created several opportunities but failed to grab them. Kalra was dropped twice and survived a run out chance while Shaw was run out after he had survived two.
Having let the momentum slip away, Pakistan were under tremendous pressure. Their bowling had been doing the job and in a crucial clash they now had to tackle the scoreboard pressure. Porel though had other ideas. Shivam Mavi created pressure from one end and Porel picked up the wickets. Mavi had three maidens from his first four overs as Porel managed to knock over four wickets to leave Pakistan tottering at 28 for 4.
While Pakistan failed to grab the chances presented to them, India were exceptional on the field with their catching. With wickets tumbling, the runs dried up as well. The scoring rate struggled to go past three per over helping India to boss the game. From 28 for 4, Pakistan nosedived to 45 for 7 and not long after crashed out of the tournament.