IN-U19 vs AF-U19 prediction: Who will win today's U19 Asia Cup match?
India U19 and Afghanistan U19 will lock horns in a Group A clash at the 2021 ACC U19 Asia Cup on Monday, December 27 to be held at the ICC Academy Ground No. 2 in Dubai.
India, led by Yash Dhull, made an impressive start to their campaign after they defeated hosts UAE by 154 runs on December 23. However, the Boys in Blue slumped to their first defeat on December 25 as Pakistan defeated them by two wickets in a nail-biting affair.
After being put in to bat first, India crawled their way to 237 and were bowled out one ball short of their 50 overs. Zeeshan Zameer picked up a five-wicket haul to break the backbone of the Indian batting.
Aaradhya Yadav top-scored for India with an 83-ball 50, laced with three fours. Opener Harnoor Singh also chipped in with a handy 59-ball 46.
Pakistan had their travails in their run-chase, but they got over the line on the last ball. Ahmad Khan’s quickfire 19-ball 29 propelled the Boys in Green to victory. Raj Bawa got four wickets, but his efforts went in vain.
Afghanistan U19, led by Suliman Safi, are placed third in Group A with two points from as many games. The upcoming game is a virtual quarter-final as the winner will go into the semis alongside Pakistan.
In their previous game, the Afghans beat the UAE by 140 runs. After being put in to bat first, the Afghans managed to score 194 for nine in 50 overs.
Allah Noor’s unbeaten 123-ball 100, laced with 11 fours and one six, led the charge for Afghanistan. Ijaz Ahmed also made 30 runs. Nilansh Kelwani picked up three wickets for the UAE.
The Afghan bowlers made Pakistan sweat with their lethal bowling attack and they didn’t make things any easier for the UAE. The Afghans bowled the UAE out for 54 in a mere 14.4 overs.
Bilal Sami and Khalel Ahmad got three wickets. Izharullah Naveed got two scalps as well.
Can the IN-U19 beat AF-U19?
Both Afghanistan and India are in a must-win situation going into their next affair. India U19 are the more experienced of the two teams without a doubt.
But the Afghans can’t be undermined by any means. Having said that, India will go into the next game as favorites, although not by a big margin.
Prediction: India U19 to win the match.