Lakshya Raichandani made the difference with 93, and India turned that innings into a place in the Under-19 Asia Cup final. Afghanistan finished on 227-8 after batting first, but the chase never lost control for long.
Raichandani faced 90 deliveries and struck 13 boundaries and one six, the kind of innings that keeps a semi-final from drifting into a late collapse. Aaryavir Sehwag added 51 off 57 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes, while VK Vineeth stayed unbeaten on 57 from 62 deliveries.
Afghanistan’s 227-8
Afghanistan were 86-3 before Shah Faisal Rahimi and Noman Salarzai put on 57 for the fourth wicket. That recovery pushed the innings toward respectability, but it still left India with a manageable target after 50 overs.
The middle and lower order tried to rebuild from 146-6, yet the innings closed at 227-8. Rahimi and Salarzai both made 51, a rare dual half-century return that still fell short of the pace required in a semi-final.
Ishan Sood’s three wickets
Ishan Sood took three wickets and Aryan Savsani added two, which kept Afghanistan from turning those partnerships into a bigger total. Sohail Khan and Noor Ali Niazai took one wicket each for Afghanistan, but their side could not make the scoreboard pressure carry into India’s chase. India in the leadership setup for the group stage opener had already shown the batting order could absorb pressure, and this game was the cleaner version of that formula.
Pakistan beat Bangladesh by nine wickets in the first semi-final, so the result sets up a final that was already being shaped by the earlier game. Saturday at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Muscat now becomes the only match that matters in this tournament, and India arrive with a top-order template built around Raichandani’s 93 rather than a single flash of momentum.
