Yashasvi Jaiswal batted like a man among boys while Kartik Tyagi reminded Pakistan of Waqar Younis’s toe-crushing yorkers as defending champions India walloped their arch-rivals by 10 wickets to enter their seventh ICC U-19 World Cup final on Tuesday.
The gulf between the two sides was evident as the India bowlers collectively restricted Pakistan to a paltry 172 in 43.1 overs. Left-handed opener Jaiswal then showed his class with an unbeaten knock of 105 off 113 balls, with an equally graceful Divyansh Saxena (59 not out off 99 balls) supporting him in an easy chase completed in only 35.2 overs.
“It’s a dream come true for me. To be able to do this for my country is a great feeling. To score a hundred against Pakistan in a World Cup semi-final is something I can’t put into words,” Jaiswal, who hit eight fours and four sixes, said after winning the Player of the Match award.
Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop too was impressed with Jaiswal’s batting. “I think we’ve seen something very special today in Yashasvi Jaiswal. First time for me watching him live. A young guy who can pace his innings to the teams needs. He understands batsmanship,” Bishop tweeted.
Yashasvi Jaiswal & Divyaansh Saxena (Picture: Twitter/@BCCI)
India’s previous final appearances were in 2000 (winners), 2006 (runners-up), 2008 (winners), 2012 (winners), 2016 (runners-up) and 2018 (winners).
The current batch with key players, having already played senior representative cricket and five with IPL deals in their bag, showed the difference in skill level and application from their opponents, an aspect that could be attributed to the robust junior cricket structure put in place by none other than Rahul Dravid.
Jaiswal literally toyed with the bowling attack, hitting the Pakistani bowlers to all parts of the ground. Jaiswal, the youngest Indian double centurion in List A cricket, finished the game with a six, which also completed his hundred.
The Pakistan bowling attack was pedestrian at best and didn’t have much answers to the drives that flowed from Jaiswal’s blade.
Divyansh’s batting was also pleasing to the eye as he played the ball late. “We were talking about how we needed to stick at the wicket. They bowled well initially and we wanted to ride that out and we knew we could dominate them after that,” Jaiswal said.
The match as a contest was over in the first half itself when the Pakistani batsmen had no answer to Tyagi’s pace and Ravi Bishnoi’s variations.
Pacer Tyagi (2/32 in 8 overs) bowled yorkers at will while leg-spinner Bishnoi (2/46 in 10 overs) was a difficult proposition to read for the Pakistani batsmen after opting to bat.
