Pakistan show U19 World Cup credentials with Asia Cup title

Pakistan put on a dominant show with the bat and ball against India in the final to take home their second U19 Asia Cup title ahead of the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia next month.

With the U19 World Cup set to begin on January 15, Pakistan have much-needed momentum on their side heading into the marquee event after clinching the Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai with a whopping 191-run victory over their arch-rivals.

Opening batter Sameer Minhas’ stunning 172 off just 113 balls did the damage to the Indian bowlers as Pakistan put up a daunting 347 on the board.

Deepesh Devendran grabbed three wickets to his name but the Pakistan batters following heroics from Minhas and a vital half-century from Ahmed Hussain (56) proved too much for the Indians who were all out for 156 in reply.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi gave India a fast start, smashing 26 off just 10 balls but wickets started tumbling out of nowhere and the game was half-done by the 10th over mark by the Pakistan pacers, with India losing five wickets inside 70 runs.

Ali Raza led the pace attack with 4-42, while Mohammad Sayyam, Abdul Subhan and Huzaifa Ahsan getting two each as India were bundled out for 156 in 26.2 overs, after some fireworks from India’s lower-order batter Devendran (36 off 16), who ended up India’s highest scorer with the willow.

In the group stage outing between the two sides earlier in the tournament, India defended 240 runs by a 90-run margin to head into the semis unbeaten.

India are yet to name their squad for the U19 World Cup, while Pakistan revealed their playing group for the tournament earlier this month.