Aaryavir Sehwag, son of Virender Sehwag, hit 160 off 168 balls and Ishan Sood took 4 for 37 as India beat the UAE by 70 runs at the Under-19 Asia Cup in Oman, booking a semi-final against Afghanistan after Sunday’s loss to Pakistan.
Al Amerat, Oman: India arrived off a three-wicket loss to Pakistan, and Aaryavir Sehwag answered it the slow way first and the fast way later. The opener took 69 balls to reach 50 and 131 to reach 100, then scored his next 60 runs off 37 balls to turn a solid total into a commanding one.
Sehwag builds, then breaks free
The UAE won the toss and chose to field. India lost captain Lakshya Raichandani for 17 off 32 balls with the score on 62 in the 14th over, which brought VK Vineeth to the crease. The pair added 193 for the second wicket, a stand that carried India past 250.
Sehwag finished with 160 off 168 balls, hitting 17 fours and 7 sixes, before Naseem Khan removed him at 255 in the 45th over. Vineeth made 67 off 69 balls, with three fours and three sixes, and fell at 276. Yashbardhan Chauhan made 17 off 10 balls and Anvay Dravid 12 off 9 to push India to 309 for 7 in 50 overs. Naseem was the pick of the UAE bowlers, taking 4 for 48 from his 10 overs.
Sood and the bowlers close it out
The UAE needed 310 to win. Ahmed Khudadad top-scored with 74 off 74 balls, and Noorullah Ayobi made a rapid 39 off 25 that included four sixes, but India kept taking wickets. Sood, who had also been among India’s standouts in their opening win over Nepal, returned 4 for 37 in seven overs. Manal Chauhan took 1 for 32 from 10 overs, and Aryan Savsani, Arjun Rajput, Mohit Ulva and Yashbardhan Chauhan took a wicket each as the UAE were bowled out for 239.
Form, the table and the semi-final
Sehwag’s hundred follows an unbeaten 70 in India’s 10-wicket win over Nepal in their opener. India then lost to Pakistan by three wickets on Sunday. Last month, Sehwag made 173 off 143 balls for Delhi Under-19 in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, with 19 fours and 8 sixes.
The win lifts India to 4 points from three Group A matches, behind Pakistan on 6 and ahead of the UAE on 2, with Nepal yet to score. India’s semi-final opponent is Afghanistan.
India Under-19 v UAE Under-19, Group A, Al Amerat, 10 November
India Under-19: 309/7 (50 overs) – Aaryavir Sehwag 160 (168), VK Vineeth 67 (69); Naseem Khan 4/48
UAE Under-19: 239 all out (49.6 overs) – Ahmed Khudadad 74 (74), Noorullah Ayobi 39 (25); Ishan Sood 4/37
Result: India Under-19 won by 70 runs
