Pakistan Under-19 made a spectacular comeback, defeating arch-rivals India by 191 runs in the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup final at the ICC Academy Ground to win their second title – the first outright title since sharing it with India in 2012.
Invited to bat first, opener Sameer Minhas played a brilliant inning of 172 runs in 113 balls (17 fours, 9 sixes), the highest individual score by any player in the U19 Asia Cup final. His aggressive innings, which included a century off 71 balls (the second fastest century of the tournament), took Pakistan to a mammoth score of 347/8 in 50 overs. Minhas put together important partnerships—a 92-run stand with Usman Khan (35) and a partnership with Ahmed Hussain (56)—while India struggled with fielding errors and poor bowling, conceding a lot of runs but eventually making a comeback to restrict Pakistan to less than 350. Pacer Deepesh Devendran took 3/83.
Chasing 348 for a record ninth title, India started with a bang, scoring 32 runs in two overs, but the early dismissal of captain Ayush Mhatre faltered. Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s quickfire 26 gave some hope, but playing hasty shots on short balls saw them reduced to 68/5 in the powerplay. There was little resistance thereafter, and the innings collapsed to 156 runs in 26.2 overs—India’s biggest Youth ODI defeat in terms of runs.
Pakistan’s fast bowling attack performed brilliantly: Ali Raza (4/42), Abdul Subhan (2/29), and Mohammad Syam (2/38) bowled brilliantly.
Minhas, who was carried on the shoulders by his teammates in celebration of the victory, was named Player of the Match and Player of the Series for scoring the most runs in the tournament.
Brief scores: Pakistan U19 347/8 (Samir Minhas 172, Ahmed Hussain 56; Deepesh Devendran 3-83) beat India U19 156 (Deepesh Devendran 36; Ali Raza 4-42) by 191 runs.
This huge win saw Pakistan avenge its defeat to India in the group stage, and added a new chapter to the youth cricket rivalry.
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