Afghanistan Bat First as Stanikzai Returns in U-19 Semi

News Desk 

Islamabad: In the Under-19 World Cup semi-final, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat against an unchanged Indian side. The Afghan team made a single change from their previous match, bringing in fast bowler Khatir Stanikzai in place of Aqil Khan.

Stanikzai has featured in all games except the last Super Six encounter, while Aqil had taken 3 wickets for 36 runs against Ireland.

India, on the other hand, fielded the same XI that defeated Pakistan by 58 runs in the previous round. Speaking at the toss, India captain Ayush Mhatre praised his team’s approach: “The boys are doing well and the attitude they are showing is great. We just want to play simple cricket.”

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/india-take-on-south-africa-in-high-stakes-clash/

India enter the semi-final unbeaten in the tournament, while Afghanistan come off a commanding 191-run victory over Ireland, although they did suffer a setback against Sri Lanka earlier.

India XI: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran

Afghanistan XI: Osman Sadat, Khalid Ahmadzai, Faisal Shinozada, Uzairullah Niazai, Mahboob Khan (c & wk), Azizullah Miakhil, Khatir Stanikzai, Abdul Aziz, Roohullah Arab, Nooristani Omarzai, Wahidullah Zadran.