2018 Under-19 World Cup, India vs Pakistan: Things which went right for India

Brutal India stamped their authority over arch-rivals Pakistan in every way possible, crushing them by 203 in the semi-final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Christchurch on Monday.

The Prithvi Shaw-led unit, who are unbeaten in the tournament, recorded a comprehensive win as their opponents, chasing 273 to win, failed to show any resistance with the bat and were bundled out for 69 in 29.3 overs.

India will play against Australia in the finals of the U-19 World Cup at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Saturday, February 3, 2018.

Now, let us have a look at the things that went for India as they made it to their sixth U-19 World Cup final.

#5 Opening partnership

India skipper Prithvi Shaw opted to bat first on a good batting surface in Christchurch and went on to lay a solid foundation for his team with fellow opener, Manjot Kalra.

The duo put on 89 runs for the opening wicket and gave India a stunning start before Shaw was run-out for 41.

Shaw and Kalra, who were clearly enjoying their batting, started off with a breeze, bringing up India's 50 inside eight overs.

India's opening pair has been a constant hit throughout the tournament and has been one of the main reason behind their team's sheer dominance.

Shaw and Kalra have been quite impressive till now and produced another clinical performance as they scored 41 and 47, respectively against Pakistan.

#4 Resilience and resurgence

Pakistan's pacer Arshad Iqbal was looted for 21 runs in his first three overs but he came back strong in his second spell and reduced India to 166/5.

Although Gill was attacking from one end, he needed someone to support him from the other.

After Iqbal rattled India, Harvik Desai and Anukul Roy proved to be able partners for their vice-captain as Gill struck 50-run partnerships with both.

Anukul and Gill got together for 67 runs and that allowed Gill to accelerate his innings and bring up his century off 93 balls as India finished on a pretty formidable score, one that looked difficult around the 35-over mark.

The left-arm spinner, who took 5/14 and 4/20 against Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe respectively, struck some lusty blows and scored 33 off 45, which helped Gill to play freely.

#3 Picking up wickets at regular intervals

No matter what score you are defending, it is always important to strike at regular intervals to keep the batsmen under check and slow down the scoring rate.

Although Pakistan's bowlers were able to put Prithvi Shaw & Co. in a spot of bother, their Indian counterparts were absolutely menacing.

Ishan Porel, in particular, was the star of the show with his fiery spell that saw Pakistan's top order suffer a collapse as he reduced them to 29/4 in their chase of 273.

Although Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti could not be among the wickets, they kept on piling the pressure on Pakistan batsmen with their tight bowling spells.

Riyan Parag and Shiva Singh also chipped in with two wickets each, while Abhishek Sharma claimed one as India made a light work of Pakistan and bundled them out for 69 in 29.3 overs.

#2 Stark difference between the two fielding sides

Although Pakistan are not the most athletic and fittest fielding sides in the world, their youth team was quite shoddy in the field even by their own standard.

They clearly struggled in their ground fielding, missing almost half a dozen run out chances and dropping two catches.

On the other hand, the Indian boys excelled in every department of the game including the ground fielding.

They held on to their catches and hardly missed any chances to dismiss their opponents.

#1 Shubman Gill's spirited knock

Vice-captain Shubman Gill played a responsible knock and became the first Indian to score a ton in the ongoing U-19 World Cup, to steer his team to 272 for 9 in the semi-final against Pakistan.

Kolkata Knight Riders' new recruit, Gill came in to bat after the fall of skipper Prithvi Shaw and remained unbeaten on 102, taking his personal tally to 341 runs in the tournament at an average of over 150.

The right-hander from Punjab also became the first-ever batsman to score a century in India-Pakistan contests in the U-19 World Cups with previous highest being Salman Butt's 85* at Lincoln in 2002.