India won the U19 Asia Cup on Saturday after Mohit Ulva struck a boundary off the last ball to seal a one-wicket win over Pakistan in the final at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground near Muscat. Chasing 338, India reached 339 for nine in 50 overs. The win gave India a record-extending ninth U19 Asia Cup title and settled a final that had swung between the sides until the last delivery.
U19 Asia Cup final starts with Pakistan total of 337
In the U19 Asia Cup final, Pakistan batted first and posted 337 for nine from their 50 overs. Usman Khan made 107, Abdul Qadir scored 80 and captain Farhan Yousaf added 63. Kavya Patel took four for 68 for India, the best return among the Indian bowlers. The total left India with a chase of 338, and for much of the second half of the match that target looked beyond them.
India made a solid start to the reply. Lakshya Raichandani scored 80 and Aaryavir Sehwag made 58 at the top of the order, and India stayed with the asking rate through the middle overs. Then wickets fell in a cluster. India slipped to 252 for eight in the 42nd over, needing 86 runs from 51 balls with two wickets in hand. Pakistan, the defending champions, had control of the match and only needed two more wickets.
U19 Asia Cup chase rescued by Ulva and Chauhan
Ulva came out to bat at number 10 and changed the shape of the chase. He found support from Manal Chauhan, and the pair put on 57 runs for the ninth wicket. Chauhan made 47 before he holed out to Usman Khan off Niqab Shafiq, but by then the pair had dragged India back into the match. Ulva kept swinging, and with the last batter, Chigurupati Venkata, playing his first game of the tournament, the number 10 had to carry the batting.
Ulva finished unbeaten on 49 from 26 deliveries, with five fours and three sixes, at a strike rate of 188.46. He opened the penultimate over with a four and a six, and an edged four from Venkata left India needing eight runs from the final over in the U19 Asia Cup final. No boundary came off the first five deliveries of that over, bowled by leg-spinner Ahmed Hussain. With three runs needed off the last ball, Ulva stepped out and drilled the delivery to the boundary to finish the match.
Ulva was named Player of the Match for the innings. “I was just waiting for that one ball. I knew I could hit a boundary and finish the game. I had complete faith in God. I knew it was my day and I would finish the game,” he said after the match. He had come out to bat in the 42nd over, when India needed 86 runs from 51 balls, and stayed until the end.
Ninth U19 Asia Cup title for India
The win gave India their ninth U19 Asia Cup title, and it reversed two recent results against the same opponents. Pakistan had beaten India in the final of the previous edition in Dubai, and Pakistan had also beaten India in the group stage six days before this final. Pakistan went into the final with an unbeaten run in the tournament, and that run ended with the last ball of the match.
India had to work around 17 extras in their innings in the U19 Asia Cup final, eight leg byes and nine wides, and the chase stayed alive only because Ulva and Chauhan scored quickly when the match looked lost. Pakistan had posted 337 for nine, with Usman Khan scoring 107, Abdul Qadir making 80 and Farhan Yousaf adding 63. India finished at 339 for nine in 50 overs to win by one wicket.
The brief scores read Pakistan 337 for nine in 50 overs, with Usman Khan 107, Abdul Qadir 80 and Kavya Patel four for 68, and India 339 for nine in 50 overs, with Lakshya Raichandani 80, Aaryavir Sehwag 58 and Mohit Ulva 49 not out. India won the U19 Asia Cup final by one wicket, off the last ball.