U19 World Cup 2026: Head-to-head record between India and Afghanistan ahead of semifinal
Vihaan Malhotra and Faisal Khan Shinozada (Source: ICC)
Published - 04 Feb 2026, 09:11 AM• Read time - 12 mins
With England having advanced to the final, India and Afghanistan are set to square off against each other in the second semifinal to secure the remaining spot in the summit clash of the ongoing U19 World Cup.
While the Boys in Blue are unbeaten, Afghanistan have already suffered a loss as they were beaten by Sri Lanka by four wickets in the Super Six stage of the tournament. All eyes will be on Faisal Shinozada, who is the leading run-getter of the tournament for Afghanistan and the second overall behind Ben Mayes of England with 325 runs at an average of 81.25 and a strike rate of 103.83, including a hundred and two half-centuries.
In the bowling department, right-arm medium pacer Nooristani Omarzai will be expected to make early inroads. He has grabbed the most wickets (12) this tournament for the side at an average of 11.58 and an economy rate of 3.65.
On the other hand, none of the India players are in the top five of the wickets and runs column. Speedster Henil Patel is leading the wickets column with 11 scalps in five games at an average of 10.09 and an economy rate of 3.72.
Wicketkeeper-batter Abhigyan Kundu is leading the charge with the willow, having scored 199 runs at an average of 66.33 and a strike rate of 82.23, including two fifties.
Notably, India and Afghanistan have met 12 times in Youth ODIs, and the Boys in Blue are leading with a 10-2 scoreline. They have only played each other once at the U19 World Cup, and it was in the 2010 edition when India had hammered Afghanistan by eight wickets.
| Date | Fixture | Winner | Margin | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jan 2010 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 8 wickets | Lincoln |
| 2 Oct 2018 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 51 runs | Savar (3) |
| 9 Sep 2019 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 3 wickets | Colombo (CCC) |
| 22 Nov 2019 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 9 wickets | Lucknow |
| 24 Nov 2019 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 2 wickets | Lucknow |
| 26 Nov 2019 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | AFG U19 | won by 3 wickets | Lucknow |
| 28 Nov 2019 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 5 wickets | Lucknow |
| 30 Nov 2019 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | AFG U19 | won by 2 wickets | Lucknow |
| 27 Dec 2021 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 4 wickets | ICCA 2 Dubai |
| 8 Dec 2023 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 7 wickets | ICCA Dubai |
| 29 Dec 2023 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 6 wickets | Johannesburg |
| 4 Jan 2024 | IND U19 vs AFG U19 | IND U19 | won by 9 wickets | Johannesburg |
India squad:
Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran; Bench: Udhav Mohan, Harvans Pangalia, Mohamed Enaan
Afghanistan squad:
Khalid Ahmadzai, Osman Sadat, Faisal Shinozada, Uzairullah Niazai, Mahboob Khan (c) (wk), Azizullah Miakhil, Nooristani Omarzai, Abdul Aziz, Roohullah Arab, Wahidullah Zadran, Aqil Khan, Khatir Stanikzai, Salam Khan, Zaitullah Shaheen, Nazifullah Amiri
