The U-19 team of India has reached the final of the 2018 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup by defeating Pakistan by a huge margin of 203 runs. They are the only undefeated team in the tournament so far.

Shubman Gill set the tone of the match for the men in blue as he was unbeaten in the first innings and scored a century as well. India gave a huge target of 273 runs after opting to bat, before Ishan Porel’s 4/17 demolished Pakistan as they were bundled out for 69, their lowest total in ICC U19 CWC history.

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Pakistan never looked in the barring a few moments of the first innings, when Muhammad Musa (4/67) and Arshad Iqbal (3/51) ran through India’s middle order to cause the batsmen a few jitters. However, Gill’s incredible century was ultimately telling.

The Pakistan batsmen needed something special to register a win, especially in front of the lethal Indian bowlers. Eventually, India sealed a date with Australia in the final in Tauranga on Saturday.

India opted to bat, giving a sizable chunk of fans at the Hagley Oval an early look at the possible future of this India-Pakistan rivalry – Prithvi Shaw facing up to Shaheen Afridi. Prithvi was typically superior with his technique, barely giving the bowlers a sniff, but Manjot Kalra used up many of his lives at the other end – he was dropped twice by Zaid Alam, off Shaheen on 24 and on 29 off Hassan Khan. He carried on to score a 59-ball 47, but the first to fall was Prithvi, run out unfortunately after attempting a quick single. Three overs later, Manjot’s dismissal by Musa reduced India to 94/2.

Pakistan team was a bit frustrated after the end of the first innings, their players did a lot of fielding lapses, a couple of no-balls and all in all, it wasn’t a session these players will particularly want to remember. In the second innings, Indian pacer Shivam Mavi built pressure from one end with three consecutive maidens and Ishan Porel capitalized at the other as he had dismissed Zaid Alam (7), Imran Shah (2) and Ali Zaryab (1) dismissed in consecutive overs. Pakistan were 20/3.

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The only positive in Pakistan’s innings was a 20-run ninth-wicket partnership between Saad Khan and Musa. Both found the fence, with Musa even lifting Shiva over long-off for a six. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to avoid that unwanted record – their lowest total in U19 World Cup history. Team India was completely ruthless with their performance, but that’s what champion sides do.

Brief Scores:

India: 272/9 in 50 overs (S Gill 102*; M Musa 4/67) defeated Pakistan: 69 all out in 29.3 overs (R Nazir 18; I Porel 4/17) by 203 runs.