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Pakistan ask India to bat in big Under-19 World Cup contest; Deepesh and Baloch come in

A win or tie is enough for India to go through to the Under-19 World Cup semi-finals, but Pakistan also need to overcome the difference in net run-rate

Sidharth Monga
Sidharth Monga
01-Feb-2026 • 1 hr ago
Deepesh Devendran picked up a five-wicket haul, India vs Malaysia, Under-19 Asia Cup, Dubai, December 16, 2025

Deepesh Devendran has replaced Udhav Mohan for India  •  CREIMAS

Toss Pakistan Under-19 chose to bowl vs India Under-19
Pakistan won a crucial toss in Bulawayo as they looked to beat India by a significant margin in order to make the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup. Pakistan, with four points in their bag, were two behind the undefeated India.
A win or tie is enough for India to go through, but Pakistan also need to overcome the difference in net run-rate: 1.484 to 3.337. The exact requirements will be updated once India have batted, but just an indicator: Pakistan need to chase a target of 251 in about 33.2 overs to make the semi-final.
The sides made one change each. Pakistan replaced middle-order batter Mohammad Shayan with left-hand batter and offspinner Ali Hassan Baloch. India switched from the left-arm pace of Udhav Mohan to the right-arm pace of D Deepesh.
This is Pakistan's first match in Bulawayo, where India have played all their matches.
This is also a grudge match for India after they were beaten by 191 runs in the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup just over a month ago.
India Under-19 1 Aaron George, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Ayush Mhatre (capt.), 4 Vedant Trivedi, 5 Vihaan Malhotra, 6 Abhigyan Kundu (wk), 7 Kanishk Chouhan, 8 RS Ambrish, 9 Khilan Patel, 10 Henil Patel, 11 D Deepesh
Pakistan Under-19 1 Hamza Zahoor (wk), 2 Sameer Minhas, 3 Usman Khan, 4 Farhan Yousaf (capt.), 5 Ahmed Hussain, 6 Huzaifa Ahsan, 7 Ali Hassan Baloch, 8 Abdul Subhan, 9 Momin Qamar, 10 Mohammad Sayyam, 11 Ali Raza

Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo

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