Today (February 4), the Indian team is facing Afghanistan in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026. This match is being played at Harare Sports Club in Harare. Afghanistan has given India a target of 311 runs to win. Chasing the target, India’s score is 91-1 in 10 overs. Ayush Mhatre and Aaron George are at the crease.
The winner of this match will face England in the final. England had defeated Australia by 27 runs in the first semi-final. The final of this tournament is to be played in Harare on 6 February. For all the updates related to India-Afghanistan match, click on the scorecard given below…
Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Aaron George gave a great start to the Indian team. Both added 90 runs for the first wicket. During this, Vaibhav completed his half-century in just 24 balls with the help of 7 fours and three sixes. However, after scoring a half-century, Vaibhav could not stay at the crease for long. Vaibhav scored 68 runs in 33 balls with the help of 9 fours and 4 sixes. Vaibhav was caught out by Nuristani Umarzai on the ball of Usman Sadat.
Afghanistan’s innings
In the match, the Afghan team won the toss and batted first and scored 310 runs for four wickets. The Afghan team had a good start. Usman Sadat and Khalid Ahmadzai made a partnership of 53 runs for the first wicket. Deepesh Devendran broke this partnership by dismissing Khalid (31 runs). After this, there was a partnership of 64 runs between Osman Sadat and Faisal Shinovaza for the second wicket. Usman (39 runs) got caught in the spin of Kanishk Chauhan.
From here Faisal Shinovaja and Uzairullah Niazi troubled the Indian bowlers a lot. There was a partnership of 148 runs between the two for the third wicket. Shinovaza scored 110 runs in 93 balls with the help of 15 fours. Uzairullah Niazi played an unbeaten inning of 101 runs with the help of 12 fours and two sixes in 86 balls. Kanishk Chauhan took the most wickets for the Indian team, who took 2 wickets.
India’s playing XI for the semi-finals: Aaron George, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (captain), Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu (wicketkeeper), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambareesh, Kanishk Chauhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, and Deepesh Devendran.
Afghanistan’s playing XI for the semi-finals: Usman Sadat, Khalid Ahmadzai, Faisal Shinozada, Uzairullah Niazi, Mehboob Khan (wk/captain), Azizullah Miakhil, Abdul Aziz, Khatir Stanikzai, Ruhullah Arab, Nuristani Umarzai, and Wahidullah Zadran.
India started their tournament journey with a win against the United States of America (USA). In this rain-affected match, Team India defeated USA by 6 wickets through DLS method. After this, the Indian team showed better control over the situation against Bangladesh and registered an 18-run win via DLS method.
The last match of the group stage was played against New Zealand, where India once again won by 7 wickets via DLS method. After remaining unbeaten in the group stage, Team India performed brilliantly against the host country Zimbabwe in the Super-6 match, registering a huge win of 204 runs and showing its strength. After this, India defeated Pakistan by 58 runs in its second Super-6 match and confirmed its place in the semi-finals. India’s full squad for the Under-19 World Cup: Ayush Mhatre (captain), Vihaan Malhotra (vice-captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wicketkeeper), Heinil Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Khilan Patel, Mohammed Inan, Harvansh Pangalia, RS Ambareesh, Kanishk Chauhan, Kishan Kumar Singh, Aaron George, and Uddhav Mohan.
Afghanistan’s full squad for the U-19 World Cup: Usman Sadat, Khalid Ahmadzai, Faisal Shinwari, Uzairullah Niazai, Mehboob Khan (wk/captain), Azizullah Miakhil, Abdul Aziz, Ruhullah Arab, Nuristani Umrazai, Waheedullah Zadran, Akil Khan, Najibullah Amiri, Khatir Stanikzai, Salam Khan and Zaitullah Shaheen.
