Aaryavir Sehwag's Maiden Ton Powers India Into U-19 Asia Cup Semifinals

Aaryavir Sehwag smashed 160 off 168 balls to register his maiden Youth ODI century as India stormed into the semifinals of the Under-19 Asia Cup with a comfortable 70-run victory over the UAE on Tuesday. India will now face Afghanistan in the semifinal on Thursday. After losing to Pakistan on Sunday, India entered the match in a must-win situation and responded with a dominant all-round performance. Aaryavir, the son of former India opener Virender Sehwag, anchored the innings with a superb knock that helped India post 309/7. The target proved well beyond the UAE, who were bowled out for 239 in 50 overs.

The young opener started cautiously before launching a sustained assault on the bowlers, striking 17 fours and seven sixes during his innings.

Aaryavir took 14 balls to get off the mark, opening his account with a boundary through the mid-wicket region off Hadayatullah Khan. Having faced 97 dot balls, the right-hander initially focused on building his innings before accelerating.

He had earlier scored an unbeaten 70 against Nepal and managed 22 against Pakistan in the group stage.

On Tuesday, Aaryavir targeted pacer Noorullah Ayobi in particular. In the 10th over, he stepped down the track to loft the bowler over mid-wicket before repeating the shot four overs later.

Against the run of play, Noorullah broke India's opening partnership in the 14th over when captain Lakshya Raichandani was caught at square leg attempting a pull shot.

Aaryavir continued to dominate both pace and spin. His first six came against left-arm spinner Zainullah Rehmani, whom he hit inside-out over the infield.

He brought up his half-century off 69 balls with another six over mid-wicket off Noorullah before steadily increasing the scoring rate.

The opener moved into the nineties with a one-handed cover drive off Hadayatullah and reached his century off 131 balls with a single against off-spinner Bilal Khan.

After completing his hundred, Aaryavir shifted gears dramatically. His next 60 runs came off just 37 deliveries as he took complete control of the contest.

He crossed the 150-run mark with a straight six off Noorullah before eventually being caught at mid-wicket off Naseem Khan.

The other major contribution came from VK Vineeth, who scored 67 off 69 balls, while Anvay Dravid provided a late flourish with a quick-fire 12 off nine deliveries, including a towering six.

In reply, the UAE were never seriously in contention despite a fighting 74 off 74 balls from Ahmed Khudabad.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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