ICC U19 CWC: Pakistan beat India by 2 wickets to reach semi-final

Lincoln, January 22: Pakistan beat arch-rivals and defending champions India by two wickets in a thriller of a match to storm into the semi-final of the ICC under-19 Cricket World Cup at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, New Zealand.

In a rain curtailed 23-over match Pakistan successfully chased down 115 with 3 balls to spare in a nail bitting match.

Pakistan who won the toss and elected to field first bowled well and struck at regular intervals to restrict their rivals India to 114/9 with Mandeep Singh (40) the only batsman offerinf some resistance.

Pacer Fayaz Butt (4/27) and left-arm spinner Raza Hasan (3/26) were the picked of the Pakistan bowlers.

Pakistan got off to a disastrous start in their run chase and were reduced to 16/3 in the first six overs but a handy contribution from Ahsan Ali (30) and Rameez Aziz (28) brought Pakistan right back into the match.

The disciplined Indian bowlers ensured the match to went down to the wire before Hammad Azam’s 13 ball unbeaten 21, which included a winning boundary in the last over, carried Pakistan home to spark wild celebrations in the dressing room.

Brief scores:
India-114/9 in 23 overs (Mandeep 40; Butt 4/27, Hasan 3/26)
Pakistan- 117/8 in 22.3 overs (Ali 30, Aziz 28, Azam 21*; Sharma 2/24, Unadkat 2/26)
–Agencies