India will bank on Aaryavir Sehwag’s rich run of form when they face Afghanistan in the men’s U-19 Asia Cup semifinal on Thursday. The India batter heads into the knockout match as the tournament’s leading run-scorer after blasting 160 off 168 balls against the UAE.

That innings drove India to a 70-run win in their final Group A match and sealed a place in the semifinal. India now have a chance to move into the final, with Sehwag again at the centre of their batting hopes.

Sehwag has led India’s charge. The son of former India opener Virender Sehwag has scores of 70 not out, 22 and 160 in the tournament so far.

Those returns have taken him to 252 runs in three innings. India beat Nepal and the UAE in Group A to push into the last four.

Pakistan handed India their only defeat in the group stage. Pakistan secured a three-wicket win in that match, exposing some weakness in India’s batting.

India will look to the duo to deliver against an Afghanistan side that finished on top of Group B.

The bowlers set up India’s win over Nepal by dismissing them for 128. Skipper Lakshya Raichandani and Sehwag then guided the chase to complete the job.

The batting unit dominated against the UAE. India piled up 309 for seven, with Sehwag leading the scoring. Against Pakistan, though, India folded for 208. Rajput carried much of the load in that innings and only four other batters reached double figures.

Faisal Rahimi and Subhan Zakhail have carried much of Afghanistan’s batting responsibility. With the ball, Noor Ali has stood out with 13 wickets, while Amir Hamza has added five.

India’s top order will face a stiff test against that attack. The team have won the Under-19 Asia Cup a record eight times, including one shared title, and will aim to add another final appearance to this campaign.

India U19 Squad: Lakshya Rajesh Raichandani(c), Aaryavir Sehwag, VK Vineeth, Arjun Rajput, Yashbardhan Chauhan, Anvay Dravid(w), Manal Chauhan, Mohit Ulva, Aryan Savsani, Kavya Patel, Ishan Sood, Yashveer Goud, Kushagra Ojha, Rajat Baghel, Shavin Vinodh.

Afghanistan U19 Squad: Abidullah Nadarjan, Faridullah Ihsas, Subhan Zakhail, Noman Salarzai(w), Shah Faisal Rahimi, Tahir Sarwary, Amir Hamza, Sohail Khan(c), Mohammad Ali, Abdullah Hamdard, Noor Ali Niazi, Sami Mubarez, Bilal Salimankhil, Lutfullah Mohammadi, Imran Mohammadi, Subhan Ali, Farid Zadran, Faisal Mubariz, Abidullah Abid, Hamza Khan Alikhil.