Rishabh Pant hit 111 (off 96 balls) as India demolished Namibia by 197 runs in Fatullah on Saturday to cruise into the semi-finals of the ICC U-19 World Cup.
Pant, the left-handed opener who had scored the fastest fifty in under-19 internationals off 18 balls against Nepal, smashed 14 boundaries and two sixes during his whirlwind innings.
All-rounder Anmolpreet Singh scored 41, and took three for 27 in his first appearance in the tournament, as India piled up 349 for six after electing to bat, and then bowled the African side out for 152 in 39 overs. The match was produced by ICC TV and aired around the world by 15 broadcasters.
Three-time champions India, coached by batting great Rahul Dravid, will take on the winner of Sunday's quarter-final between strong contenders England and Sri Lanka in the first semi-final in Mirpur on Tuesday.
The second semi-final between host Bangladesh and the winner between Pakistan and the West Indies on Monday will be played in Mirpur on Thursday.
Dravid said his team had started to play almost perfect cricket.
"I think we have played some good cricket right through the tournament. At some stages, I still feel we have not played a perfect game, but this was our best all-round performance," said the former India captain.
"We had a few hiccups earlier on in the batting but it is nice to see that we have recovered and we are playing well. We're playing good cricket, focusing on the processes and not worrying too much about the results and things are going well," he added.
