Pakistan were crowned the champions of the Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup after a thumping 191-run win over arch-rivals India in a one-sided 50-over final at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on Sunday.
Asked to bat first on a pitch that aided great strokeplay, Sameer Minhas smashed a blistering 113-ball 172 with the help of 17 fours and nine sixes and powered Pakistan to a massive total of 347-8 in 50 overs.
Minhas shared partnerships of 92 and 137 with Usman Khan (35) and Ahmed Hussain (56) as Pakistan ensured the Indian bowling line-up, except spinner Khilan Patel, had an outing they would not like to remember. The only solace for India, who looked unsorted in their fielding, was that they managed to pull things back in the last 10 overs to keep Pakistan three runs short of 350.
Once Pakistan posted a mammoth 347 for eight, India needed a lion-hearted chase to clinch a ninth title in the tournament. However, India’s batting unit were able to score only 156 runs before getting bowled out in 26.2 overs, courtesy of Pakistan’s stellar bowling attack.
The pace troika of Ali Reza (4/42), Mohammad Sayyam (2/38) and Abdul Subhan (2/29) were clinical for Pakistan with the ball.
It also meant that India, which had an unbeaten campaign so far, suffered their heaviest defeat in terms of runs in Youth ODIs. Pakistan, meanwhile, has grabbed the U19 Men’s Asia Cup trophy for the first time, having shared the 2012 edition title with India, where the final ended in a tie.
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Under-19 Asia Cup Final: India Crumble Under Pressure In Run Chase
In the chase of a massive target, India began brightly in reply, racing to 32 runs in the first two overs. But the chase unravelled swiftly after skipper Ayush Mhatre fell cheaply in the third over.
Once Vaibhav Suryavanshi fell for a 10-ball 26, the rest of the Indian batting line-up never showed any kind of fight. India’s batters perished to rash strokes on short balls, leaving them reeling at 68/5 by the end of the power-play.
From there, despite Deepesh Devendran top scoring with 36, India were bowled out for 156 in 26.2 overs, with Pakistan pacer Ali Raza taking 4-42.
Brief scores: Pakistan U19 347/8 in 50 overs (Sameer Minhas 172, Ahmed Hussain 56; Deepesh Devendran 3-83, Khilan Patel 2-44) beat India U19 156 all out in 26.2 overs (Deepesh Devendran 36, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 26; Ali Raza 4-42, Huzaifa Ahsan 2-12) by 191 runs
(With IANS Inputs)
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