ICC U19 WC: From Tendulkar to Kaif, cricketers congratulate India colts for entering finals

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Christchurch, Jan 30: India colts continued their unbeaten run in the tournament as they registered an emphatic 203-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the semifinals of the ICC U-19 World Cup on Tuesday (January 30).

The boys in blue will now face Australia in the final on February 3. This is the sixth time when India U19 team entered into the finals of the ICC event. The boys in blue have won it three times.

Australia had beaten Afghanistan by six wickets in the first semifinals on Monday (January 29). They have also lifted the trophy three times so far.

Earlier, electing to bat first, India rode on Shubman Gill's 102 not out of 94 balls to pile on 272/9 in their allotted 50 overs and then bundled Pakistan out for a mere 69 in just 29.3 overs.

Pacer Ishan Porel gave Pakistan four back-to-back blows and rattled their top order to ensure they never recover from the early losses. Later, the spinners played their part to perfection and wrapped up the Pakistani innings in the 29th over.

India skipper Prithvi Shaw rotated his bowlers exceptionally well and the fielders, unlike their Pakistani counterparts, were electric on the field as they took some brilliant catches.

Pakistan had a sloppy work in the field as they dropped catches and missed as many as seven run out chances.

Gill, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 1.8 crore in the Indian Premier League players' auction, had hit a match-winning 86 in the quarterfinals against Bangladesh. He is the team's leading scorer with 341 runs.

The defeat was Pakistan's heaviest (in terms of runs) in a U-19 World Cup match. Porel grabbed four wickets for 17 runs while spinners Shiva Singh and Riyan Parag took two wickets apiece to rock the Pakistan run chase.

Pakistan were reduced to 20 for 3 in the eighth over with Porel removing their top three batsmen and they could not recover from there under a relentless attack from an Indian pace battery and a spin troika.

Only three Pakistani players could reach double-digit scores with Rohail Nazir hitting 18.

Elated with India colts' clinical performance, several India cricketers congratulated the boys for making it to the finals in style. From former India captain Sachin Tendulkar to the first India U19 world cup winning captain Mohammed Kaif, everyone congratulated the Indian lads.

This is how cricketers reacted on Twitter: