The semi-final of Under-19 World Cup 2026 is being played between India and Afghanistan. There came a moment in the match when Afghanistan got 5 runs as penalty due to the mistake of the Indian team. The thing to note is that the bowler had got the ball dotted, but keeper Abhigyan Kundu could not stop the ball properly and the opposing team got five runs as penalty.

Let us tell you that this incident happened on the last ball of the 17th over when bowler Deepesh Devendran made the ball dot the Afghan batsman Faisal Shinozada. There was not much bounce in the ball, due to which keeper Abhigyan could not stop the ball properly and the ball hit his helmet kept on the ground.

After this the ball went towards four also

The matter was not limited to just the ball hitting the helmet, but after that the ball also started moving towards the boundary line. Although the ball was dead after hitting the helmet, the umpire still signaled it for a four. As soon as the umpire gave a four, the commentator also said that the umpire might have to withdraw this decision. Ultimately only five penalty runs were given. In this way, due to one mistake, Team India suffered a loss of 5 runs.

Under which rule were penalty runs awarded?

So let us tell you that according to section 28.3.2 of MCC, the body that makes the rules of cricket, if the ball hits the helmet of the fielding team kept on the field, then the umpire gives five penalty runs to the batting team.

Battle to reach the finals

By winning the semi-finals, both the teams would like to make it to the finals. Let us tell you that the Under-19 teams of India and Afghanistan are facing each other at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. This is the second semi-final. The England team has won the first semi-final. The team that wins the second semi-final will face England in the final on Friday (06 February). The title match will also be played at Harare Sports Club only. Now it will be interesting to see who faces England in the final.

The second semi-final of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026 is between India and Afghanistan today. The winning team will face England for the title on February 6, which had earlier defeated Australia by 27 runs in the semi-final. Know India’s probable playing eleven.

Afghanistan had made it to the semi-finals along with Australia from Group 1, finishing second in the points table. From Group 2, England and India made it to the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup. England has reached the final by defeating Australia, while the other finalist will be the winning team of India vs Afghanistan match today.

5 time champion India is strong

Compared to Afghanistan, the Indian Under-19 team looks strong, which has batsmen like Ayush Mhatre, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George and excellent bowlers like Henil and Khilan Patel. Khilan Patel took 3 wickets for 35 runs against Pakistan, he also scored 21 runs. Henil Patel had taken 3 wickets for 23 runs in the important match played against New Zealand, who today has the power to destroy Afghanistan’s batting.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi is an explosive batsman, who hits big shots from the first ball. In the Under-19 World Cup, he scored 72 runs against Bangladesh, 40 against New Zealand and 50 against Zimbabwe. He scores runs at a very fast pace and even if 10 or 15 overs last, he can make the opposition bowlers sweat. Captain Ayush Mhatre played an important inning of 53 runs against New Zealand, but was out for zero in the last match. A big innings will be expected from him today.

Afghanistan in semi-finals for the first time

Afghanistan cricket team has reached the semi-finals for the first time in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Afghanistan had registered a big win against Ireland by 191 runs in the last match, Faisal Khan had played a brilliant inning of 163 runs. Abdul Aziz Khan and Akil Khan took 3-3 wickets.

India’s probable playing 11

Aaron George, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (captain), Vedant Trivedi, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigayan Kundu (wicketkeeper), RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chauhan, Khilan Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Henil Patel.

When and where to watch India vs Afghanistan Under-19 match?

India vs Afghanistan semi-final match in Under-19 Cricket World Cup will start today (4 February) at 1 pm. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network and live streaming will be on JioHotstar app and website.