IND U19 vs PAK U19: Ayush Mhatre's India knock Pakistan out of U19 World Cup 2026 semifinal race; complete line-up

India became the fourth and final team to qualify for the ICC U19 World Cup 2026 after Pakistan failed to chase down the target in within 33.3 overs in the final Super 6 clash in Bulawayo on Sunday. Sent into bat first, India rode on Vedant Trivedi's half-century to post 252 in 49.5 overs. For Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals, the Boys in Green needed to win the game within 34 overs.

At 33.3 overs, Pakistan reached 167/4, thereby allowing India to go through and join the likes of Australia, England and Afghanistan. With four points, Pakistan needed to win with a bigger margin to topple India on net run rate (NRR). At present, second-placed India have an NRR of 3.337 while Pakistan have +1.484.

Had Pakistan chased the target within the time frame, they would have gone to the second place because of a batter NRR and made it to the last four. In the end, Pakistan were all out 194 in 46.2 overs, thus losing by 58 runs. Khilan Patel and Ayush Mhatre took three wickets each for India. For Pakistan, Usman Khan top-scored with 66.

ICC U19 World Cup 2026 semifinal line-up

After India's win over Pakistan in the final Super 6, the Ayush Mhatre's side finished on top of the group ahead of England. Thus India will take on Afghanistan in the second semifinal on February 4 in Harare. In the final semifinal, Australia face England in the first semifinal on February 3.

What happened during India's innings?

Earlier, India started in typical fashion with Vaibhav Suryavanshi scoring 30 runs in 22 balls. However, India suffered a stunning collapse as they went from 46/0 to 47/3 in a space of just four balls. However, it was Vihaan Malhotra (21), who joined Vedant Trivedi to consolidated the innings with a 62-run stand. While Malhotra perished, Vedant continued on a slowish track that made shot making difficult.

Vedant played played 98 balls and hit two fours and a six for his 68 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.