Five-time champions India U19 have qualified for the Semi-finals as the Group 2 champions of the Super 6 in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2026 after claiming a strong victory against arch-rivals and latest U19 Asia Cup champions Pakistan U19 on Sunday (February 1).
After Pakistan U19 chose to field first at Bulawayo in their must-win game, India U19 scored 252 all out in 49.5 overs. Pakistan U19 needed to chase the target in 33.3 overs (could stretch to 34.3 overs if they manage to score 258 runs) to qualify for the Semi-finals by surpassing India U19 in the second position in the Group 2 points table. However, Pakistan U19 failed to show intent in that challenging chase as they were all out for 194 runs, as India U19 won by 58 runs to grab the top spot in the Group 2 points table.
After a good start with a 47-run opening partnership between Aaron George and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, India lost three quick wickets without adding a run on the board. Along with Vaibhav (30) and captain Ayush Mhatre (0), Aaron was out for 16 runs.
Vedant Trivedi and Vihaan Malhotra had a very important partnership of 62 runs for the fourth wicket that helped the Indian Colts to stabilise the innings. While Vihaan scored 21 runs and Abhigyan Kundu was dismissed for 16 runs, Vedant carried on his innings to an important score of 68 runs off 98 balls with two fours and one six.
Among the late batters, RS Ambrish (29 off 38 balls), Kanishk Chouhan (35 off 29 balls), and Khilan Patel (21 off 15 balls) had some useful cameos, as India managed to score 250+ runs. In the last five overs, India added 44 runs, while the slow over-rate cost Pakistan with an extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle from the 46th over, which India utilised strongly to change the match status significantly.
All six Pakistani bowlers took at least one wicket, as Abdul Subhan (3/33) and Mohammad Sayyam (2/69) claimed multiple wickets.
In reply, although Pakistan got a strong start with 56/1, they had no intent to chase in 33 overs, and as time progressed, the Indian spinners controlled the game strongly. While the opener Hamza Zahoor scored 42 runs, Usman Khan scored 66 runs, and captain Farhan Yousaf scored a fighting 38 runs. The middle-order batter Huzaifa Ahsan (14) was their only other batter to manage a double-digit score, as Pakistan's batting slowly collapsed from 151/2 to 194 all out.
Among seven Indian bowlers, six managed to pick up at least one wicket, while skipper Ayush Mhatre (3/21) and Khilan Patel (3/35) had three wickets each. Kanishk Chouhan was also brilliant with the bowling figures of 10-1-30-1, as he won the Player of the Match award for his brilliant all-round contributions, including 35 off 29 balls and a stunning catch.
ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2026: Super 6 – Group 2
Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | No Result | Points | Net Run Rate |
1 | India U19 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2.585 |
2 | England U19 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.757 |
3 | Pakistan U19 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.765 |
4 | Bangladesh U19 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –0.505 |
5 | New Zealand U19 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | –2.923 |
6 | Zimbabwe U19 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | –2.815 |
