Vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra’s (61 not out off 45 balls) exhilarating stroke-play was well complemented by Aaron George’s (58 not out off 49 balls) composure as India U-19 set up a 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-over per side, the Indian bowling unit restricted Sri Lanka to 138-8 in 20 overs.
In reply, 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, beat Bangladesh by eight wickets.
Brief scores
SL 138-8 in 20 overs (C Heenatigala 42, V Dinsara 32, S Seneviratne 30; H Patel 2-31, K Chouhan 2-36) lost to India 139-2 in 18 overs (V Malhotra 61*, A George 58*; R Nimsara 2-31) by eight wickets