Muristek
North Sound (Antigua), February 2
England kept their nerve to reach the ICC U-19 World Cup final after prevailing over Afghanistan by 15 runs in an exciting last-four clash here. It ended England's 24-year wait to enter the final.
Spinner Rehan Ahmed became the hero for the Young Lions, taking three wickets in the penultimate over at a crucial point when their opponents needed just 18 runs from the last 10 balls on Tuesday.
It was a remarkable turnaround for England from the previous tournament just two years ago in South Africa when they finished ninth.
Rain delayed the first of the two semifinals after England won the toss and chose to bat.
Jacob Bethell, who lit up the quarterfinal tie with 88 against South Africa, was trapped leg before wicket by Naveed Zadran. George Thomas steadied the ship with an excellent 50, but was dismissed by Noor Ahmad. England were soon five wickets down having barely put 100 runs on the board.
However, the rain came again to delay play for a further half-hour and led to revised conditions of 47 overs per side. England's back-end partnership of 95 from George Bell and Alex Horton lifted the final total to 231.
Chasing their first ever U-19 World Cup final, Afghanistan knew a good start was needed. Opener Nangeyalia Kharote was unable to provide it when English seamer Josh Boyden claimed his wicket with just the third ball of the innings. But new batter Allah Noor smashed a huge six to get off the mark and quickly gave his team a platform. The 18-year-old produced a marvellous knock, which featured eight boundaries. Noor and wicketkeeper Mohammad Ishaq got their team past 90.
England's crucial breakthrough came after some wonderful fielding led to the run-out of Ishaq. Noor remained stubborn but eventually went for 60. That set up a frantic finish. The 44th over appeared to have turned the game when two no balls in a row gifted Afghanistan eight runs, before Abdul Hadi smashed a six to take them to 200.
But Ahmed's late flurry and a nerveless final over from Boyden carried England over the line to their first U-19 World Cup final since 1998 in South Africa, when they lifted the trophy. — PTI
Yash Dhull and Shaik Rasheed rescued India from a shaky 37/2 in 12.3 overs. Dhull made 110 and Rasheed 94, the two adding 204 runs to propel India to a huge total of 290/5 in 50 overs. BCCISkipper Dhull follows in Kohli's footsteps
Osbourn: Skipper Yash Dhull gave a glimpse of his enormous talent with a superbly-crafted hundred while Shaik Rasheed ideally complemented him as India scored 290/5 against Australia in the second semifinal of the ICC U-19 World Cup here today. Dhull (110 off 110) was able to a complete a fine century but Rasheed (94 off 108) just fell short as they added 204 runs for the third wicket. The duo rescued India from a shaky start. Dhull also became the third Indian captain to hit a hundred in the tournament's history after Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand.