IND vs AFG U-19 World Cup 2026 semifinal: In-form India takes on Afghanistan, eyes spot in final
A confident and all-round Indian side, unbeaten so far in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2026, will be an overwhelming favourite against Afghanistan in the second semifinal in Harare on Wednesday.
India, led by Ayush Mhatre, has had a great run in the tournament, having won all five of its matches, including most recently against Pakistan in a crucial Super Six match.
Afghanistan, too, has had a fairly good tournament, winning four out of its five games, with its only loss coming against Sri Lanka.
Going by form and overall composition, India will hold an edge over the Afghans in the knockout game, with all eyes on a spot in the final, to be played against the winner of the first semifinal between Australia and England.
Wicket-keeper batter Abhigyan Kundu has been India’s most consistent performer, scoring 199 runs from five games with two half-centuries. All-rounder Vihaan Malhotra (172 runs from 5 games) is the other batter to look out for, who is India’s lone centurion.
Meanwhile, the team will hope for better returns from Aaron George, Mhatre and big-hitting opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who fell short of converting his half-centuries into three-figure scores.
The skipper, however, has picked up six wickets with his off-break from five games.
The Indian bowling, spearheaded by right-arm fast bowlers Henil Patel and RS Ambrish, will also look for able support from left-arm orthodox spinner Khilan Patel.
India is the most successful team in the history of the event, having lifted the title five times (2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2022), followed by Australia, which has won the trophy four times.
SQUADS
India U-19: Aaron George, Abhigyan Kundu, Harvansh Pangalia, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi, Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Henil Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Udhav Mohan, Kishan Singh.
Afghanistan U-19: Mahboob Khan (c), Azizullah Miakhil, Faisal Shinozada, Khalid Ahmadzai, Osman Sadat, Uzairullah Niazai, Abdul Aziz, Aqil Khan, Khatir Stanikzai, Nazifullah Amiri, Nooristani Omarzai, Roohullah Arab, Salam Khan, Wahidullah Zadran, Zaitullah Shaheen.
Match starts at 1:00 PM IST.
Published on Feb 03, 2026
