Pakistan Colts 'Look Forward' To Play India In Semis: Mohammad Huraira

The ICC Under-19 World Cup is nearing its end as teams get ready to play in the semis. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand make up the last four with India and Pakistan set to play in the first semifinal at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Tuesday (February).

Despite the rivalry between the two neighbouring nations, the Pakistani colts are ‘looking forward’ to the opportunity to play against India.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, Pakistan’s Mohammad Huraira said that his team will treat the fixture versus India as ‘a normal game’.

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Pakistan ‘Looking Forward’ to square off against India: Mohammad Huraira

On Friday, Huraira scored 64 runs off 76 balls to help his team chase down a target of 190 runs set by Afghanistan in the quarter-final. Waiting for them in the semifinal is team India who defeated Australia by 74 runs in their respective match.

Defending champions India have won all three of their group games and have a perfect record in the tournament so far.

However, the Pakistani colts are paying no heed to India’s achievements and will rather treat the semifinal as just another game, revealed Huraira.

He said, “The India-Pakistan rivalry has always been there, there will be a bit more pressure, but we’ll get used to it. Myself, should I play, I’ll try and play it like a normal game, and we look forward to it.”

Huraira’s innings versus Afghanistan came to an abrupt end when he was ‘Mankaded’ by bowler Noor Ahmad.

Later, Afghanistan colts’ skipper Farhan Zakhil conceded that had his team been in a better position they would not have resorted to such tactics.

Even though ‘Mankading’ is not considered fair play, Huraira took the blame for his dismissal.

He said, “I should’ve been in the crease, and I’ll learn from the mistake. I’ll ensure it isn’t repeated again.”

The semifinal between India Pakistan will be played on Tuesday at Potchefstroom with the other semifinal between Bangladesh and New Zealand scheduled for Thursday at the same venue.

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