U19 World Cup: All-rounder Kanishk star in Pakistan rout as India reach semis

Brief Scores India 252 in 49.5 overs Vedant Trivedi 68, Kanishk Chouhan 35, Abdul Subhan 333 beat Pakistan 194 in 46.2 overs Hamza Zahoor 42, Usman Khan 68, Farhan Yousuf 38 Khilan Patel 335, Ayush Mhatre 321 by 58 runs.

Young Kanishk Chouhan showed his all-round prowess as India comfortably outclassed arch-rivals Pakistan by 58 runs in a Super Six encounter to qualify for the semifinal of the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Sunday. India will meet Afghanistan in the semifinal while England and Australia will play in the other last-four encounter. It was all-rounder Kanishk, whose quickfire 29-ball-35 and a 50-run stand for the eighth wicket with Khilan Patel (21 not out off 15 balls) took India U-19 to a decent 252 in 49.5 overs. However, for Pakistan to qualify for the semi-finals on account of better run-rate, they needed to reach 253 in 33.3 overs but their batters didn't seem interested in making a match as they managed 167 for 4 in 33.3 overs before finally getting bowled out for 194 in 46.2 overs. In the bowling department, it was Kanishk, who basically stopped the Pakistan team on its tracks with figures of 1 for 30 in 10 overs which included an astounding 40 dot balls. With pitch assisting spinners, left-arm spinner Khilan Patel (3/35 in 9.2 overs) and skipper Ayush Mhatre (3/231 in 8 overs) also choked the run flow throughout the middle overs. Pakistan's Asia Cup hero Sameer Minhas was dismissed by a Henil Patel off-cutter and the remaining batters strangely displayed a defensive mindset. ''There was a good start but in the middle, the ball was spinning. The way KC (Kanishk's nickname) batted brilliant. Vedant (Trivedi) was batting well in the nets, so I was confident in him. Boys were contributing. Pakistan batters batted well in the first 25 (overs), after that the spinners bowled really well. We are looking match by match. Just want to win the semi-finals,'' skipper Mhatre said after the match. Earlier, Kanishk and Khilan added 50 runs in just 5.1 overs to provide a final flourish after Vedant's patient 68 off 98 balls helped them lay a platform. Put into bat, Vaibhav Suryavanshi (30 off 22 balls) started in his typical attacking fashion but despite getting a reprieve off left-arm seamer Mohammad Sayyam's (2/69) bowling, he was dismissed trying a second pull-shot in as many deliveries. Skipper Ayush Mhatre (0)'s nightmarish run in Youth ODIs continued with a first-ball duck while Aaron George got a ripper from lanky Abdul Subhan (3/33), which pitched on middle and moved a shade to dislodge the off-stump. Subhan bowled full and straight and with his height, produced that awkward bounce making life difficult for the batters. From 47 for no loss, India were reduced to 47 for 3 after which left-handed Vihaan Malhotra (21) joined Vedant and consolidated the innings with a 62-run stand. However, none of the top order batters including Vedant could lift the tempo of the innings due to the slowness of the track that made shot making difficult. The right-handed Vedant played 98 balls and hit two fours and a six before a poor shot off a full-toss from left-arm wrist spinner Momin Qamar brought about his downfall. Khilan and Kanishk chanced their arms just when it was required to take the team to a safe score. As has been the norm, players didn't shake hands after the match. Brief Scores: India 252 in 49.5 overs (Vedant Trivedi 68, Kanishk Chouhan 35, Abdul Subhan 3/33) beat Pakistan 194 in 46.2 overs (Hamza Zahoor 42, Usman Khan 68, Farhan Yousuf 38; Khilan Patel 3/35, Ayush Mhatre 3/21) by 58 runs.

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