Whenever someone is down, we get together to cheer them up: Yash Dhull

India reached the semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup, beating Bangladesh in the quarter-final by five wickets. They will now take on Australia in the semi-final on Wednesday (February 2).

Ahead of the group stage match against Ireland, six players including skipper Yash Dhull tested positive for Covid-19 and as a result, just about had enough players to take field. 

Dhull, who was part of the quarter-final victory said that the spirit in the dressing room is good and whenever someone is down they try to lift them up. 

"Our team combination has been very good and the boys are gelling well. Whenever someone is down, we all get together to bring them up. It is a lifetime experience here," Dhull said at the end of the match.

Dhull was also thankful for the experience shared by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief VVS Laxman.  "The team is improving day by day. Laxman sir is giving his experience, gives us a lot of help in the middle. We will look at the semis on the day of the match depending on how the wicket is," Dhull said.

Before contracting COVID, the Delhi-based player showed his worth with a match-winning knock of 82 against South Africa in the team's opener.

Player of the Match in the quarter-final against Bangladesh, pacer Ravi Kumar ended with excellent figures of 7-1-14-3 on a tacky track as Bangladesh were all out for 111 in 37.1 overs.

In reply, India chased down the target in 30.5 overs with opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi's 44 being the top score. "The plan was simple -- to bowl tight lines and create pressure. Preparation was nice during the last few days. We spent a lot of time together and prepared well. It's been a good experience so far and we hope we can go all the way," Ravi said.

Skipper Dhull made 20 not out and his deputy Shaik Rasheed contributed 26. The victory was highly satisfying considering the youngsters came back without any training post-recovery from COVID-19.

(With inputs from PTI)