India will take on Afghanistan in the second semi-final of the U-19 World Cup 2026 at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Wednesday, February 4. The Ayush Mhatre-led side have enjoyed a flawless campaign so far in the tournament, winning all their matches.
The Men in Blue opened their campaign with a six-wicket victory over the USA before recording a thrilling 18-run win against Bangladesh. India finished top of Group B victory over New Zealand by seven wickets.
The winning streak continued into the Super Six stage as India defeated hosts Zimbabwe and arch-rivals Pakistan to seal their place in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Afghanistan opened their campaign with a 28-run win against South Africa and then went on to beat the West Indies and Tanzania to finish top of Group D. The Mahboob Khan-led side opened the Super Six stage with a four-wicket loss to Sri Lanka but bounced back strongly with a 191-run win over Ireland.
While India have been unbeaten in the tournament so far, they cannot afford to take Afghanistan lightly, who are known to punch above their weight. The upcoming semi-final has all the ingredients of a nerve-racking contest and is expected to live up to the hype as the tournament heads into its final stages.
Players to watch out for
Abhigyan Kundu – The 17-year-old is India’s highest run-scorer in the tournament so far, having scored 199 runs from four innings at an average of 66.33, with two fifties to his credit. Kundu played some crucial innings for the team under pressure and will be eager to repeat his performances in the knockout stages as well.
Henil Patel – Patel was impressive with his raw pace in the contest as he scalped 11 wickets in five innings. The speedster will once again play a key role for India in the all-important semi-final.
Faisal Shinowzada – The right-handed batsman is the second highest run-scorer in the tournament so far with 325 runs from five innings, including one century and two fifties.
Nooristan Omarzai – The right-arm seamer is the leading wicket-taker for his side, with 12 wickets from five innings. Omarzai is tipped to be lethal again with the new ball against India’s opening pair of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre.
Pitch Report
A total of 11 matches have been played at Harare Sports Club so far in the tournament, six of which have been won by the batting teams. The average first innings score at the venue was 233 while the highest target successfully chased is 237. With these numbers in mind, the captain who wins the toss is likely to opt to bat first in this crucial encounter.
Live broadcast details
India U19 Semi Final Live Streaming Vs. Afghanistan Under-19 will be available on JioHotstar while Star Sports Network will provide live streaming of the match.
IND U-19 vs. AFG U-19 Predicted Playing XIs
India Predicted XI: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran
Afghanistan Predicted XI: Khalid Ahmadzai, Osman Sadat, Faisal Shinowzada, Uzairullah Niazai, Mahboob Khan (c) (wk), Azizullah Miakhil, Nooristani Omarzai, Abdul Aziz, Roohullah Arab, Wahidullah Zadran, Aqil Khan
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
February 4, 2026
