India face Pakistan for a place in the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup

It's India vs Pakistan, for the first time in the 2026 Under-19 World Cup, being played in Zimbabwe and Namibia. The match on Sunday will start at 0730 GMT (1pm IST/12.30pm PST) in Bulawayo.

It's the last game of the Super Sixes round and there's a semi-final spot at stake. England have already made it to the final four from Group 2, so only one of India (six points) and Pakistan (four points) can qualify. For India, it's straightforward - win and go through. It's not so simple for Pakistan, whose net run rate of 1.484 is significantly lower than India's 3.337. Pakistan will need to win by a big margin to equal India's six points and overtake then on net run rate. For example, if Pakistan bat first and post 300, they need to win by 85 runs. If they bowl first and restrict India to around 200, they will need to chase it down in around 31.5 overs. If the target is, say, 251, Pakistan will need win in about 33.2 overs to make the semi-finals.

In the Under-19 Asia Cup final just over a month ago, Pakistan hammered India by 191 runs after scoring 347 in Dubai. India had beaten Pakistan by 90 runs in the group stage of that tournament.

India WWWW (completed matches, most recent first
Pakistan WWWL

Pitches in Bulawayo have not been that high-scoring, with 300 breached just once by a team batting first - India did it against Zimbabwe. Irrespective of the surface, keep your eyes on India's explosive opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He already has an IPL hundred (for Rajasthan Royals) and has a penchant for rapid starts and big scores.

Pakistan fast bowler Ali Raza could be threatening at the start. He has 12 wickets in the tournament - the joint second highest. Raza has already made his PSL debut (for Peshawar Zalmi) and also his senior debut in domestic cricket in all three formats. In the recent Asia Cup final against India, he landed big blows by removing both Sooryavanshi and India's captain Ayush Mhatre in the first five overs.