ISLAMABAD (Big Digit) Pakistan defeats India; wins Under-19 Asia Cup. Sami’s 172 runs, Ali Raza’s 4 wickets

ISLAMABAD (Big Digit) Pakistan defeated India to win the Under-19 Asia Cup. They showed a brilliant performance in the final and defeated arch-rivals India by a huge margin of 191 runs. Opener Sami Minhas played a record-breaking innings, scoring 172 runs, which is the highest individual score by any player in the history of the Under-19 Asia Cup final. Pakistan, batting first, set a huge target of 347 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. In reply, India’s supposedly strong batting line-up was badly shattered and the entire team was bundled out for 156 runs in just 26.2 overs. Fast bowler Ali Raza broke the back of the Indian batting by taking 4 wickets for the loss of 42 runs. The victory proved to be a great comeback for Pakistan, as after a heavy defeat at the hands of the same opponents in the group stage, Pakistan were considered underdogs against the unbeatable Indian team in the final. In the final, Pakistan completely overwhelmed India by performing in every department.
Indian captain Ayush Mahatre won the toss and decided to bowl first, probably hoping that the pitch would initially be helpful for the fast bowlers, but this decision backfired badly. Sami Minhas batted aggressively from the start. Hamza Zahoor was dismissed early for 18 runs, after which Sami put on 92 runs for the second wicket and 137 runs for the third wicket with Usman Khan 35 and Ahmed Hussain 56 respectively to put Pakistan in complete control. Batsman Sami completed his century off 71 balls and reached 172 runs off 113 balls. His innings included 17 fours and 9 sixes. He was dismissed in the 43rd over by a slow delivery from Deepesh Devendran. Pakistan failed to reach 400 with 5 wickets falling within 45 runs in the closing overs, but the score of 347 runs proved to be the highest total in the history of the U-19 Asia Cup final. Patel was the standout for India with 2 wickets for 44 runs, while Devendran took 3 wickets for 83 runs. Chasing 348 runs, India got off to a fast start and Ali Raza scored 21 runs in the very first over. Vaibhav Suryavinshi hit a six and a four in an over, which included nine balls and extra runs. Suryavinshi continued his aggressive style and played a quick innings of 26 runs off 10 balls, which included three sixes and a four. However, the pace bowling completely changed the course of the match. Captain Mahatre was caught at mid-off for 2 runs, Erin George missed a pull shot for 16 runs off 9 balls, while Surya Vanshi was caught. These three wickets went to Ali Raza and Mohammad Siam and by the fifth over, India’s score was 49 for 3. Wickets continued to fall. Vihan Malhotra was bowled by Abdul Subhan for 7 runs, Vedant Trivedi was caught at short mid-wicket for 9 runs, while Abhigyan Kundu was caught at deep third man for 13 runs. Kanishk Chauhan was able to show some resistance with 9 runs and Khalin Patel was able to show some resistance with 19 runs, but wickets kept falling. At the bottom, Deepesh Devendran kept the match alive for a while with a quick innings of 36 runs off 16 balls, which included six fours and two sixes, but his dismissal while playing a high shot towards point off Ali Raza’s ball proved to be the end of India’s last hopes. Abdul Subhan took 2 wickets for 29 runs while off-spinner Huzaifa Ahsan took 2 wickets for just 12 runs. Mohammad Siam gave full support by taking 2 wickets for 38 runs. India’s entire innings ended in just 26.2 overs, which was a clear testament to Pakistan’s bowling superiority and excellent fielding after the break. The margin of victory proved to be the largest in the history of the Under-19 Asia Cup finals and thus Pakistan won a complete and decisive victory. Man of the Match Sami Minhas was lifted on his shoulders by his teammates and celebrated,