Pakistan have been doing well in the ongoing Under-19 World Cup semi-final against India. However, they will take their long cricket rivalry with India as “a normal game”, shared batsman Mohammad Huraira on Friday ahead of the important clash. Huraira smashed 64 off 76 balls on Friday as Pakistan chased down 190 runs with ease to beat Afghanistan in the quarter-finals of the tournament. The next match will be against India in Potchefstroom on Tuesday to seal the berth at the final.
“The India-Pakistan rivalry has always been there,” said Mohammad Huraira. “There will be a bit more pressure, but we’ll get used to it. Myself, should I play, I’ll try and play it like a normal game, and we look forward to it.”
India are the defending champions of the tournament and have won the Under-19 title four times. Pakistan were the champions in 2004 and 2006 as well. They beat India in 2006 final in Colombo where they bowled out their opponents for just 71 in the target of 109.
Read here: MS Dhoni Hilariously Trolls His Wife Sakshi On Social Media
On Friday, Pakistan registered the victory with 53 balls to spare in Benoni but Huraira’s innings came to the limelight with a controversial end, being ‘Mankaded’ by Afghanistan bowler Noor Ahmad. Afghan captain Farhan Zakhil also admitted after their six-wicket defeat that they may not use the dismissal if they had been in a better position in the game.
“At that time, we realised let’s do something different to build pressure on Pakistan,” Zakhil told cricinfo.com. “To be honest, it was not in the spirit of the game.”
But Mohammad Huraira also said that he was at fault for leaving his crease.
“I should’ve been in the crease, and I’ll learn from the mistake. I’ll ensure it isn’t repeated again,” he added.
On the other hand, India reached the semi-finals with a 74-run win over Australia on Tuesday, continuing their winning streak in the tournament so far with win all of their three group games. The second semi-final will take place between Bangladesh and New Zealand, also in Potchefstroom, on Thursday.
