DUBAI – Pakistan won the nail-biting game on the last ball against India in a match of the U-19 Asia Cup on Saturday.
Team Pakistan surpassed the target of 238 runs on the last ball of the 50-over match.
Openers Abdul Wahid and Maaz Ahmed Sadaqat failed to build a strong opening stand as formed went for the duck and the latter made 29 runs.
Muhammad Shahzad replaced Wahid and displayed a thrilling performance by smashing 81 runs, pushing the team closer to victory.
Qasim Akram made 22 runs while Mohammad Irfan Khan and Rizwan Mehmood Syed scored 32 and 29, respectively.
Ahmed Khan smashed an unbeaten 29, sealing Pakistan’s two-wicket win over India.
PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja has felicitated the U-19 team on their win.
“Congrats young guns. Played a tremendous game and held your nerve to beat India,” he wrote on Twitter.
#pakvIndAsiaCupUnder19 Congrats young guns. Played a tremendous game and held your nerve to beat India.#PakistanZindabad
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) December 25, 2021
Earlier today, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Zeeshan Zameer played prominently with the ball as he bagged a five-wicket haul while conceding 60 runs in his 10 overs while Captain Qasim Akram takes the wicket of Kaushal Tambe – who scored 32 runs in 38 balls.
Rajvardhan Hangargekar scored 33 runs off 20 balls to give the innings much-needed impetus at the backend.
ACC U19 Asia Cup 2021
India U19 vs Pakistan U19India set Pakistan a target of 238 runs.
🇮🇳 237 all out (49 ov)#INDvPAK | #U19AsiaCup | #PakistanFutureStars
📸: ACC pic.twitter.com/0uDmB6bDFO— Pakistan Cricket Live (@TheRealPCB_Live) December 25, 2021
Maaz Ahmad Sadaqat breaks the 38-run partnership between Rajangad Bawa and Aaradhya Yadav by sending the former back to the pavilion. Bawa scored 25 runs in 59 balls, whereas Yadav is unbeaten on 24 runs off 52 balls.
The South Asian neighbors are part of group A in the tournament while the match is being played at ICC Academy Ground No 2 in Dubai.
Both sides will be looking to continue their winning streak in the event, after comprehensively notching up wins in their opening games.
ACC U19 Asia Cup 2021
India U19 vs Pakistan U19Toss: Pakistan win the toss and decide to field#INDvPAK | #U19AsiaCup | #PakistanFutureStars pic.twitter.com/iwJoOYuVOA
— Pakistan Cricket Live (@TheRealPCB_Live) December 25, 2021
Green Shirts earlier thrashed Afghan batting, dismissing them for only 52 runs, and won the match by four wickets on Thursday whereas India won their opening game against UAE by 154 runs.
Batting first in the match, India posted 282-5 on the board. Harnoor Singh slammed a marvelous century while skipper Yash Dhull scored 63. Later, team UAE was bowled out for 128 with Kai Smith scoring the highest 45.
Meanwhile, the winner of today’s game will give themselves a great chance to finish at the top of the table in Group A.
A total of 15 games will take place in U19 Asia Cup 2021 and all squads will play against the other teams of their group once. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. Then, the top team from group A will face the 2nd top team from group B and vice-versa. The winners of the semi-finals will lock horns in the final.
U19 Asia Cup: Pakistan beat Afghanistan, ready to take on India
Squads
Pakistan U19: Maaz Ahmad Sadaqat, Abdul Wahid, Muhammad Shahzad, Haseebullah (wk), Qasim Akram (c), Mohammad Irfan Khan, Rizwan Mehmood Syed, Ahmad Khan, Ali Asfand, Syed Zeeshan Zameer and Awais Ali.
India U19: Harnoor Pannu, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shaik Rasheed, Yash Dhull (c), Nishant Sindhu, Rajangad Bawa, Aaradhya Yadav (wk), Kaushal Tambe, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vicky Ostwal and Ravi Kumar.
ICC Women s World Cup: Pakistan, India to face off on March 6 at Tauranga
