139/2 (18.0)
CR : 7.72
138/8 (20.0)
CR : 6.90
India U19 won by 8 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Vihaan Malhotra
61(45)
Over 18
India U19 139/2
Aaron George58(49)
Vihaan Malhotra61(45)
Sethmika Seneviratne0-23(3.0)
IND U19 won by 8 wickets
6:38 PM IST, 5:08 PM Local Time: A magnificent victory for India in the rain-hit semi-final has pushed them into the summit clash of the Under-19 Asia Cup! Aaron George and Vihaan Malhotra seal the deal with a 114-run unbeaten stand to defeat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets at the ICC Academy in Dubai! In other news, Pakistan has beaten Bangladesh in the second semi-final setting up another India-Pakistan clash in the grand finale to be played on Sunday!
The match started 5 hours later than the scheduled time due to rain and wet outfield. India won a good toss and elected to bowl first. Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh, Deepesh Devendran and Khilan Patel bowled solid spells to contain Sri Lanka for 138/8 with Chamika Heenatigala's 42 being the top score.
India's chase didn't start off well as they lost the superstar openers Ayush Mhatre (7) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (9) inside the first powerplay. Aaron George returning to the line up joined forces with vice captain Vihaan Malhotra and rescued India from 25/2 to take them to the win in the 18th over.
Malhotra smashed an unbeaten 61 off 45 deliveries hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes whereas George hit 58 in 49 deliveries with 4 fours and a maximum. The duo added 114 runs in 87 balls negotiating the pacers and spinners really well and displaying good batting form before the summit clash.
Rasith Nimsara (2/31) picked up both the wickets. Viran Chamuditha (0/20) and Sethmika Seneviratne (0/23) bowled handy spells but there were never enough runs on the board for Sri Lanka to apply any kind of pressure.
Stay tuned as we return with the post match presentation in a while.
The match started 5 hours later than the scheduled time due to rain and wet outfield. India won a good toss and elected to bowl first. Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh, Deepesh Devendran and Khilan Patel bowled solid spells to contain Sri Lanka for 138/8 with Chamika Heenatigala's 42 being the top score.
India's chase didn't start off well as they lost the superstar openers Ayush Mhatre (7) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (9) inside the first powerplay. Aaron George returning to the line up joined forces with vice captain Vihaan Malhotra and rescued India from 25/2 to take them to the win in the 18th over.
Malhotra smashed an unbeaten 61 off 45 deliveries hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes whereas George hit 58 in 49 deliveries with 4 fours and a maximum. The duo added 114 runs in 87 balls negotiating the pacers and spinners really well and displaying good batting form before the summit clash.
Rasith Nimsara (2/31) picked up both the wickets. Viran Chamuditha (0/20) and Sethmika Seneviratne (0/23) bowled handy spells but there were never enough runs on the board for Sri Lanka to apply any kind of pressure.
Stay tuned as we return with the post match presentation in a while.
Players of the Match: Aaron George & Vihaan Malhotra
Aaron George (Player of the Match): "It's about being consistent with your planning and preparation and I think I've been doing it well. It's about knowing your abilities and understanding when to accelerate and when to take the game deeper.
Vihaan Malhotra (Player of the Match): "As we know Ayush and Vaibhav got out early, my thought was to go in and take some time. I talked to Aaron and said that we need one big over to change the game. We will take the game deeper and believe in ourselves.
We were rotating the strike pretty good in the middle. It put the pressure back on Sri Lanka. We were confident to do it and we did it. The pitch was quite the same in both the innings. The new ball did a bit. Our bowlers bowled really well in the death. The wicket was good to bat on, we paced it right."
We were rotating the strike pretty good in the middle. It put the pressure back on Sri Lanka. We were confident to do it and we did it. The pitch was quite the same in both the innings. The new ball did a bit. Our bowlers bowled really well in the death. The wicket was good to bat on, we paced it right."
Vimath Dinsara (Sri Lanka U19 Captain): "The score was not what we expected. The batters should have done more on this wicket and that turned the match.
My partnership with Chamika was going well. My wicket was the turning point of the match.
[Positives of the tournament] We have a good team and today's match was against a really good team. The experience we gained will be very crucial for the World Cup."
My partnership with Chamika was going well. My wicket was the turning point of the match.
[Positives of the tournament] We have a good team and today's match was against a really good team. The experience we gained will be very crucial for the World Cup."
Ayush Mhatre (India U19 Captain): "Very happy that the team is doing well and going forward. We have done a pretty good job, the bowlers also bowled tight lines and lengths. There was some stickiness on the wicket, so the spinners also got help and we introduced them early.
Boys were really confident because of Vihaan's and Aaron's batting form. It will be very exciting final for us also. We will try to win that also."
Boys were really confident because of Vihaan's and Aaron's batting form. It will be very exciting final for us also. We will try to win that also."
That's it from our coverage of the first semi-final in the Under-19 Asia Cup 2025! India easing through to the grand finale with an 8-wicket win over Sri Lanka! Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of scorer Asraj Khan. Stay tuned for more action from around the world.