India Pakistan ICC U-19 World Cup 2018
India to face Pakistan in the semifinal of the ICC U-19 World Cup 2018 on January 30th.

A clash between India and Pakistan is worthy of the biggest clash of any tournament, but unfortunately, the fans will have to see them locking horns in the semi-final of the ICC Under 19 World Cup.

The much-anticipated clash will take place at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Tuesday (30 January).

Current form:

India is the only team in the tournament to remain unbeaten so far, winning all four of their matches comprehensively. They began with an impressive 100-run win over Australia who had already qualified for the final and went on to win their next two league games by ten wickets. In the quarterfinal, they thrashed Bangladesh by 131 runs to set up the mouth-watering clash with the arch-rivals.

ICC U-19 World Cup 2018: India vs Pakistan Semifinal - Match Prediction
India are yet to lose a match in the tournament (Credits: Getty)

Red-hot Shubman Gill is leading the scoring charts for India, having scored the fifties on all the three occasions he had batted. On the other hand, left-arm spinner Anukul Roy is the leading wicket-taker, having picked up 11 wickets from his four matches.

Pakistan, on the other hand, began their campaign with a five-wicket loss at the hands of Afghanistan. They, however, won three consecutive three games from there on to make it to the semifinal. Ali Zaryab Asif and Rohail Nazir have led the batting charts by scoring three fifties between them while left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi is the leading wicket-taker for his side, having picked up 11 wickets including the sensational six for 15 against Ireland.

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ICC U-19 World Cup 2018: India vs Pakistan Semifinal - Match Prediction
Afridi has picked up 11 wickets so far (Credits: ESPN)

Head to head:

Both the traditional heavyweights of the game have played 21 games against each other, and it is India who had managed to end up on the winning side on the most number of occasions. India has won 12 and lost eight with one match finishing in a tie. In the last meeting which happened at the 2014 ICC Under 19 World Cup, India had defeated Pakistan.

Predicted XI:

India:

Ishan Porel, Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Harvik Desai (wk), Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prithvi Shaw (c), Shiva Singh, Riyan Parag, Anukul Sudhakar Roy, Shivam Mavi, Manjot Kalra

Pakistan:

Hasan Khan (c), Muhammad Musa, Muhammad Zaid Alam, Saad Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Rohail Nazir (wk), Mohammad Taha, Suleman Shafqat, Ali Zaryab, Ammad Alam, Arshad Iqbal

Match Prediction:

While both the teams are more than capable of winning this high-voltage clash, it is India who would enter the game as firm favourites. If the current form is anything to go by then India should have the last laugh in the much-awaited clash.

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