India's Under-19 cricketers stormed into the Asia Cup final on Thursday, November 12, beating Afghanistan by eight wickets in the second semi-final at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Muscat. Captain Lakshya Raichandani led the chase with a commanding 93 off 90 balls as India overhauled a target of 228 in just 36.5 overs, with 79 balls to spare, IANS reported.

Source: IANS, via hi INDiA

227/8Afghanistan, 50 overs
230/2India, 36.5 overs
93Raichandani's score off 90 balls
8 wicketsIndia's winning margin

Batting first, Afghanistan posted 227 for eight in their 50 overs, built around half-centuries from Noman Salarzai (51) and Shah Faisal Rahimi (51). For India, Ishan Sood took three wickets for 41 runs and Aryan Savsani claimed two for 29, according to the brief scores carried by IANS.

Captain leads the chase

India's reply was controlled from the start. Opener Aaryavir Sehwag made 51 off 57 balls, Raichandani struck 13 fours and a six in his 93 before falling seven runs short of a century, and VK Vineeth finished unbeaten on 57 off 62 balls alongside Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (16 not out). Vineeth hit a six in the 37th over to complete the win, and Raichandani was named Player of the Match, the CricTracker scorecard showed.

Source: CricTracker, full scorecard

India had reached the semi-finals after a ten-wicket win over Nepal and a dominant victory over the UAE built on Sehwag's 160 earlier in the tournament. They will now meet arch-rivals Pakistan in the title clash on Saturday, November 14, IANS said.