Minhas, Raza star as Pakistan crush India to win U19 Asia Cup

DUBAI: Sameer Minhas’ marathon knock followed by Ali Raza’s splendid bowling display helped Pakistan thrash India in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup U19 final here at the ICC Academy on Sunday. Set a daunting 348, the Indian batting lineup faltered under pressure and were skittled for only 156 in 26.3 overs. Indian opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi came out all guns blazing and hit a quick-fire 26 from 10 deliveries. As a result, India were 32 in 2.2 overs. However, skipper Ayush Mhatre was sent back for two, and soon after, the Men in Blue batting lineup collapsed. Pacers Ali Raza and Mohammad Sayyam combined to send back Aaron George (16) and dangerous Vaibhav Suryavanshi in back-to-back balls, which put India in dire straits at 49-3 in 4.1 overs. The Green Shirts continued to pile up pressure and cut through the Indian middle order. Vihaan Malhotra (7), Vedant Trivedi (9), and Abhigyan Kundu (13) stayed at the crease for a short time, which left India reeling at 82-6 in 12.3 overs. At one stage, it looked like India would not cross the 100-run mark, but they eventually did, thanks to some sloppy fielding from Pakistan and Deepesh Devendran’s knock, who top-scored for his side. He made 36 from 16 with the help of six fours and two maximums. For Pakistan, Ali Raza outfoxed Indian batters with a four-wicket haul while Huzaifa Ahsan, Abdul Subhan, and Mohammad Sayyam contributed with two wickets each. Earlier, Pakistan capitalized on the decision to bat first against India and racked up 347/8 in their allotted 50 overs. Hamza Zahoor and Sameer Minhas provided a brisk start, adding 31 in 3.3 overs before the former was caught after scoring 18. He hit two sixes and a boundary in his knock. The wicket brought Usman Khan to the crease, who then stitched a 92-run partnership for the second wicket with Minhas, which brought the score to 123 in 16.4 overs. Khilan Patel provided the much-needed breakthrough for India, removing Usman, who made 35 from 45 with the aid of three fours and a six. Meanwhile, it continued on and reached half a century. However, it was the third wicket stand of 137 runs between Sameer Minhas and Ahmed Hussain, which put Green Shirts in a position to score a big total. Sameer Minhas reached the century on the third ball of the 28th over with a four and continued while Ahmed Hussain departed after making 56 off 72 balls. At this stage, Pakistan were 260-3 in 37.3 overs. But India made a comeback in the last phase of the innings and restricted Pakistan’s scoring rate, including the prized wicket of Minhas. The right-hander was eventually caught after amassing 172 off just 113, peppered with 17 fours and nine sixes. For India, Deepesh Devendran stood tall among the bowlers and picked up three wickets in his quota of 10 overs.