Legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag's son, Aaryavir Sehwag, played a huge knock of 160 in India's 70-run win over UAE in the ACC Men's Under-19 Asia Cup 2026 group stage clash on November 10. The Lakshya Raichandani-led India U19 stormed into the semifinal with two wins in group stage games. India will face Afghanistan in their semifinal clash.
Aaryavir slams ton, Vineeth plays second fiddle
UAE skipper Ayaan Misbah won the toss and opted to bowl first at Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 2). Aaryavir did not score a single run in the first 13 balls. He got off the mark with a boundary in the fourth over. After a cautious start, he decided to attack while Raichandani took time to settle. The opening partnership was broken by Noorullah Ayobi in the 14th over. Raichandani departed after contributing 17 runs from 32 balls in the 62-run partnership.
In the next over, Aaryavir hit the first six of the innings. He reached his fifty with a six from 69 balls. VK Vineeth and Aaryavir dictated terms in the middle overs. In the 34th over, Aaryavir reached his century from 131 balls.
In the 37th over, Aaryavir went berserk against Uddish Suri, hitting two sixes and two fours. Five overs later, he smashed a six to reach his 150, carrying on his father Virender's legacy. Vineeth hit a six to reach his fifty as well, getting to the milestone from 60 balls.
Batting collapse in slog overs but India cross 300-run mark
The second-wicket partnership was broken by Naseem Khan. Opener Aaryavir departed after scoring 160 runs from 168 balls, featuring 17 fours and seven sixes. This is the highest score by a batter in the ongoing tournament.
The centurion of the previous game, Arjun Rajput departed for a single-digit score. In the next over, Vineeth became Naseem's second victim of the day. He hit three fours and as many sixes in his 69-ball 67. Anvay Dravid hit a six before losing his wicket in the penultimate over. Naseem completed his quota of overs with Manal Chauhan's wicket. In the final over, Yashbardhan departed for a 10-ball 17 to skipper Misbah. Mohit Ulva finished the innings with a six as India registered the highest score of the tournament, 309/7.
UAE nowhere in run chase from the start
In the run chase, UAE got off to a cautious start. In the seventh over, Ishan Sood dropped a simple return catch off his bowling. Misbah got another reprieve off the next ball. Ulva broke the opening partnership with Zainullah Rehmani's wicket. He scored 16 runs from 28 balls. The other opener, Misbah could not accelerate and got bowled for a 53-ball 27 to Kavya Patel in the 18th over.
Yayin Rai tried to push the scoring rate with big hits. Yasbhardhan ended his stay at the crease in the 24th over. Rai scored 29 runs from 44 balls, including a four and three sixes. UAE reached the 100-run mark in the 27th over.
Mohamed Nafees became Rajput's victim in the 32nd over. Then, Bilal Khan was dismissed for a four-ball duck by Aryan Savsani. Afghanistan lost half the side for 117 in the 33rd over. A few overs later, Suri was dismissed by Manal as UAE’s chances of making a comeback looked bleak.
Ahmed Khudadad and Ayobi entertained the crowd with big-hitting as the required run rate was out of reach. In the 44th over, Khudadad reached his half-century from 58 balls. The onslaught continued in the slog overs. Both batters returned to the pavilion in the 48th over. Sood got rid of both batters. First Ayobi was dismissed caught and bowled for a 25-ball 39 which featured four sixes. Then, Khudadad got knocked over for a run-a-ball 74. In the last over of the match, Sood got the wickets of Muhammad Saad and Hadayatullah Khan as well. UAE were bowled out for 239, losing the match by 70 runs.
Aaryavir told father he would score big
Aaryavir was named ‘Player of the match’ for his 160-run knock. He revealed that he promised his father that he would get a big hundred.
"Feels amazing. The wicket was turning a little. I started off and decided to play long and bat for 40 odd overs. There were challenges on the wicket. I didn't get bothered about the dot balls. I knew I will catch up. And I wanted to make a big score. I had promised someone to make a big score today and thankfully I made it. And that person is my dad (Virender Sehwag). I told him I will get a big hundred. I have a legacy to live up to as he only likes big hundreds," Aaryavir said during the post-match presentation.
When will India face Afghanistan in semifinal clash?
The semifinal clash between India and Afghanistan will take place on November 12. In the other semifinal, Pakistan will lock horns with Bangladesh.
Afghanistan and Pakistan reached the semifinals without losing a match in the group stages.
India have not won the U19 Asia Cup since 2021. In the last two editions, India have reached the final but lost to Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. Meanwhile, Afghanistan will be looking for their first title win since 2017.
India’s journey to the semifinal
In their campaign opener on November 6, India beat Nepal by 10 wickets. Sood starred with three wickets for 18 runs. He bowled as many as four maidens. Rajput took three wickets for just eight runs in 5.3 overs. Chasing a small target of 129, India finished the run chase in 19.1 overs. Aaryavir scored an unbeaten 52-ball 70, whereas Raichandani scored 53 runs from 63 balls.
In the high-voltage clash against Pakistan, India lost four wickets for just 42 runs in the 17th over. Arjun played a stellar knock of 107 runs from 85 balls. India were bowled out for 208. In the run chase, Pakistan lost half the side for 61 in the 15th over. Wicketkeeper-batter Hamza Zahoor's unbeaten 100 led Pakistan to a three-wicket win.