BULAWAYO: Pakistan Under-19 team captain Farhan Yousaf said his side were confident of putting a strong performance as they gear up to face arch-rivals India in a must-win Super Six fixture of the ICC Under-19 World Cup on Sunday.
Pakistan need to beat India by a big margin to pip their rivals to a semi-final spot from Group 2 with table-toppers England having already sealed their berth. They head into the match having won the last match between the two sides in the Under-19 Asia Cup final in December.
India enter the clash unbeaten in the tournament, having swept past Bangladesh and New Zealand in the group stage before easing past Zimbabwe in the Super Six. With three wins and a commanding net run rate of +3.337, five-time champions India sit second the group with six points.
Pakistan are third, two points behind. They lost to England but beat Zimbabwe in the group stage before securing an eight-wicket victory over New Zealand in the Super Six. Their net run rate might be +1.484 but Farhan is unfazed by the task at hand.
“The morale of the squad is very high,” Farhan said.
“Not only for this match, but over the last few games as well, the players have shown great intensity and we are confident of putting in a strong performance.”
Opener Sameer Minhas, whose whirlwind knock in the Asia Cup final made the difference, echoed similar views.
“The environment in the squad is very positive,” he said. “The team has been performing well in recent matches and we are looking to carry the momentum forward and take confidence into the next game.”
The only action at the tournament on Saturday was a dead rubber Group 2 match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in Harare which the former won by 74 runs.
Bangladesh rode on Azizul Hakim Tamim’s anchoring knock of 59 to post 253-9 before pacer Iqbal Hossain’s 5-24 saw them skittle out the hosts for 179.
Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2026
