Dubai, Dec 20: Vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra’s exhilarating stroke-play was well complemented by Aaron George’s composure as India U-19 set up an U-19 Asia Cup summit date with arch-rivals Pakistan after crushing Sri Lanka colts by eight wickets in a rain-curtailed semi-final here on Friday.After rain reduced the match to 20-overs per side, the Indian bowling unit, which has been spot on throughout the tournament, restricted Sri Lanka to 138 for 8 in 20 overs.
In reply, left-handed Malhotra (61 not out off 45 balls), who was snapped by RCB at the recently-concluded IPL mini auction, flicked and pulled with ease to hit a couple of sixes apart from muscling a few boundaries.
His partner and India’s crisis man in this event, George (58 not out off 49 balls), was technically perfect with his strokes as India chased down the target in 18 overs.
India’s eighth appearance in the final was built on the unbroken 114-run stand for the third wicket between Malhotra and George.
In the other semi-final, Pakistan beat Bangladesh by eight wickets, and the bitter neighbours will meet in the continental final after a gap of 11 years.
The last time India U-19 beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in 2014, the team comprised of Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav, to name a few.