Pakistan beat India by three wickets in the U19 Asia Cup at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Muscat on Sunday, chasing down 209 with 11 balls to spare. Hamza Zahoor, batting at number seven, finished unbeaten on 100 off 108 balls after Pakistan had slipped to 61 for five. His century took the shine off Arjun Rajput’s 107 for India, the innings that had lifted the side to 208 after a poor start. The win put Pakistan on top of Group A with four points from two matches.
India won the toss and chose to bat, but the decision went wrong at once. The side lost early wickets and sat at 42 for four before Rajput took charge. He reached his fifty and kept going, reaching his hundred off 80 balls, and finished with 107 from 85 deliveries, with 11 fours and five sixes. Kavya Patel gave him some support with 23 lower down the order. India were bowled out for 208 in 46.3 overs, a total that looked short in this U19 Asia Cup match once Pakistan’s chase got going.
U19 Asia Cup: Rajput rescues India after the early collapse
Rajput walked in with India in trouble and played the innings of the match from his side. He drove and pulled with control, and he made 107 of the 148 runs India added while he was at the crease. The Pakistan seamers had done the early damage. Ali Raza took three for 37, Rizwanullah three for 24 and Niqab Shafiq three for 42, and the three shared nine wickets between them. Rajput was out in the 36th over with India on 170 for seven, and the tail added little after he left.
U19 Asia Cup: Zahoor turns the chase around
Pakistan’s reply in the U19 Asia Cup started badly. The side lost half its batting for 61 runs, and India looked set to defend a modest total. Zahoor, the wicketkeeper, walked in at number seven and steadied the innings with Hasnain Abbas Dar. The pair added 107 for the sixth wicket, and the chase swung back towards Pakistan. Dar made 38 before he was out, but Zahoor stayed to the end. He finished with 100 not out from 108 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes, and he sealed the win in the 49th over with a drive past extra cover.
Manal Chauhan took three for 32 for India and Mohit Ulva took two for 45, but the bowlers could not finish the job after the early strikes. India had Pakistan in trouble, yet the middle order held firm once Zahoor found his range. The defeat in the U19 Asia Cup left India second in the group, and the side now needs a win in its last group match to be sure of a place in the semi-finals.
What the U19 Asia Cup result means for Group A
Pakistan arrived at the U19 Asia Cup match as defending champions, and the win kept that record intact. The side beat India by 191 runs in the final of the last edition in Dubai in December, and it has now won two matches from two in this tournament. India beat Nepal by 10 wickets in its opening match, so the loss does not end its campaign. The semi-finals are scheduled for 12 November, with the final on 14 November.
India captain Lakshya Raichandani said after the U19 Asia Cup match that his side had finished 20 to 30 runs short of a par score, and the batting collapse at the start had left too much to do. The next match, against the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, 10 November, is now one India must win to stay in control of its own progress. Pakistan face Nepal on the same day, and a win there would seal top spot in the group.
The U19 Asia Cup match gave both sides a century, and the two innings told the story of the day. Rajput’s hundred came when India had lost four wickets for 42, and it kept the side in the match. Zahoor’s hundred came when Pakistan had lost five for 61, and it won the match. India will take the positives from Rajput’s form into the UAE match, but the bowling side will know that a total of 208 was not enough on a pitch where the chase held together.