Al Amerat (Oman): Aaryavir Sehwag smashed 160 off 168 balls for his maiden hundred in Youth ODIs, as India entered the semifinals of the U-19 Asia Cup with a comfortable 70-run win over the UAE here on Tuesday.
India will now face Afghanistan in the semifinal on Thursday.
Having lost to Pakistan on Sunday, India found themselves in a must-win situation against the UAE.
Aaryavir, son of the great Virender Sehwag, allowed India to post 309 for seven, a total which was beyond the grasp of the opposition. The UAE managed 239 all out in 50 overs.
Aaryavir took his time early before producing a barrage of fours and sixes — 17 and seven respectively.
He took 14 balls to get off mark, opening his account with a boundary towards the mid-wicket region off Hadayatullah Khan. The fact that he consumed 97 dot balls indicates that junior Sehwag remains very much a work in progress.
He had made an unbeaten 70 in the win over Nepal before tallying 22 against Pakistan earlier in the group stage.
On Tuesday, Aaryavir went after pacer Noorullah Ayobi in the first half of the innings. In the 10th over, he stepped out against Noorullah to pick him over mid-wicket before playing a similar shot against the bowler four overs later.
Against the run of play, Noorullah had Aaryavir’s opening partner Lakshya Raichandani caught in the 14th over as his pull shot went into the hands of the square leg fielder.
Aaryavir left his crease both against the pacers and spinners.
The first six of the match came from his bat as he stepped out to left-arm spinner Zainullah Rehmani for an inside out hit. A little later, he brought up his 50 off 69 balls with a six over midwicket off Noorullah.
He gained fluency as the innings progressed. The Indian opener got into the 90s with a one handed cover drive off Hadayatullah before reaching three figures off 131 balls with a single off spinner Bilal Khan.
It was only after getting to three figures that he was able to boss the bowlers. His next 60 runs came off just 37 balls.
The bowler was Noorullah when Aaryavir breached the 150-run mark with a straight six. He was eventually caught at mid wicket off Naseem Khan.
The other major contribution came from VK Vineeth (67 off 69). Anvay Dravid hit a towering six in his 9-ball 12.
In response, the UAE were never in the chase despite a good hand from Ahmed Khudabad (74 off 74).
