England book semi-final with Pakistan

England have booked themselves a semi-final showdown with Pakistan following a nail-biting three-wicket win over India in the quarter-finals of the ICC U19 World Cup in Dubai.

On the back of a player-of-the-match 61 off 64 balls from Ben Duckett and an equally swift 42 off 45 from Joe Clarke, England chased down India’s total of 221 with five balls to spare.

The chase wasn’t without its nervous moments, with England reduced to 3-41 early and then, following the departure of Duckett and Clarke, requiring 15 runs off the final two overs.

“It was a very good all-round performance and all the players deserve praise and appreciation,” said England captain Will Rhodes.

“We got a few of India’s big players out early and you always start to feel confident when that happens. And then when you’ve only got to chase 220-odd, you start to believe further that you have a chance.”

Matthew Fisher was the main destroyer for England, picking up three early wickets before Deepak Hooda (68), Vijay Zol (48) and Sarfaraz Khan (52 not out off 46 balls) added some respectability to the score.

“I thought we did really well to come back from 24 for four but we were still short by a few runs,” India captain Zol said. “It is obviously disappointing to lose the match but I think we fought till the very end. I don’t think it was a wrong decision to bat first but credit must be given to England bowlers who exploited the conditions and bowled well.”

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In the day’s other big match, Pakistan took care of Sri Lanka with ease, notching a 121-run victory in Sharjah.

The win was set up by another century opening partnership between Sami Aslam (95) and Imam-ul-Haq (82). It was their third of the tournament, and resulted in Pakistan setting a formidable 279 for victory.

In reply, Sri Lanka struggled out of the gates, losing 3-44 before Priyamal Perera (68) and Sadeera Samarawichrama (51) eased the pressure on the chasing side.

The bowlers slowly regained the ascendancy in the middle overs, and following the departure of both established batsmen, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 158 off 42.3 overs.

Pakistan opener Sami was looking forward to the clash with England.

“We’ve won this match by a great margin, which will be good going into the semi-finals,” he said. “We have played against England a lot, so we know each other quite well. It’s going to be an exciting match.”