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After a bumpy start, Pakistan consolidated their inning in the first semi-final of the ICC U19 World Cup 2020 at Potchefstroom, South Africa on Tuesday. Opener Haider Ali and captain Rohail Nazir steadied the ship with their impressive partnership.
However, Indian teenage prodigy Yashasvi Jaiswal managed to break the dangerous partnership with the priced wicket of Haider. Soon after, Qasim Akram and Rohail were involved in a bizarre run-out.
The onus, then, resided on Rohail and Mohammed Haris to forge yet another partnership to post a challenging total. Batting at 21, with a maximum and boundary already to his name, Haris succumbed to a rush of blood and decided to sweep Atharva Ankolekar.
Divyansh Saxena, placed at deep square leg, covered a fair amount of ground to pluck a spectacular catch towards his right. Replays showed that Saxena was at his full stretch to reach the ball and latched on to the catch, only millimeters off the ground.
Commentators unanimously appreciated Saxena’s efforts and tagged it as the ‘catch of the tournament’.
Watch the video below:
Catch of the tournament so far?
You voted Divyansh Saxena's diving take against Pakistan as yesterday's @Nissan Play of the Day.#U19CWC | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/4Y3JWUzu2Y
— ICC (@ICC) February 5, 2020
In the end, it was a clinical performance for the Indian colts who outplayed their arch-rivals in all three departments of the game. Pakistan could only post a paltry 172 runs in front of the heavy-duty Indian lineup.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Saxena chased down the total with ease and booked their place in the finals for the seventh occasion. Saxena also scored a gritty half-century in support of Jaiswal’s magnificent ton.
