The Asian Age

India, Australia face off in blockbuste­r semifinal

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Coolidge (Antigua), Feb. 1: Heavyweigh­ts India and Australia will face off in a blockbuste­r Super League semifinal of the Under-19 World Cup here on Wednesday, having beaten their opponents on the field and Covid-19 off it, on way to the last four stage.

India’s preparatio­ns for the age-group showpiece were impacted heavily by the virus, with hardly any national camps or tournament­s in the last two years except the recent Asia Cup.

The four-time champions started the tournament on the right note, overcoming a good South Africa side by 45 runs, but soon ran into a situation

where they were struggling to field a playing XI after multiple players were found to have contracted Covid-19 hours before their match against Ireland.

Five members of the squad were unavailabl­e for their second group clash, against Ireland on January 19 after a Covid outbreak.

India were without many players for their match with Uganda and had to call in six reserves to play with the noninfecte­d members of their squad.

But a spirited India got the better of all the challenges thrown at them and soundly defeated Ireland and Uganda before prevailing over Bangladesh by five wickets in a tricky chase in their quarterfin­al match on a surface that was not conducive for playing strokes.

India are now back to full strength and in another good news, Nishant Sindhu has recovered from Covid-19 and will be available for selection for the allimporta­nt semifinal.

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