Pakistan pacers overpower India in U-19 Asia Cup

India faltered against the big-hitting Sameer Minhas and the extra zip of pacers, suffering a massive 191-run defeat against Pakistan in a one-sided 50-over Under-19 Asia Cup final on Sunday. Pakistan lifted their second U19 Asia Cup, and as it is the norm now, there was no formal greetings between the players of two teams.

Once Pakistan posted a mammoth 347 for eight, riding on Minhas’ 172 (113b, 17x4, 9x6) they needed a lion-hearted chase to clinch a ninth title in the tournament. But the tall Pakistan pace troika — Ali Reza (4/42), Mohammad Sayyam (2/38) and Abdul Subhan (2/29) — hurried their top-order with consistent hard-lengths as India folded for 156 in 26.2 overs.

India skipper Ayush Mhatre said his team played well throughout the tournament but wayward bowling cost them dear on the crucial day. “We were clear to bowl first, there were some inconsistencies in the line of the bowling. It was a simple plan to play the 50 overs. The boys really played well and tournament was good for us and some players stood up,” he said.

Pakistan skipper Farhan Yousaf said he “was not disappointed with the final score.” “We very happy with the collective performance. We had lost the first match against India, but our management had a good talk with us and we could provide the win in the final,” Yousaf said. Minhas was adjudged the Player-of-the-Match and also Player-of-the-Series.

“It was a good innings, I had in mind to score a big score, I want to play my natural game, we wanted to bat first looking at the track. It is very memorable for me.” he said. India’s chase began on an explosive note despite losing Ayush Mhatre early. Vaibhav Suryavanshi hammered Raza for two sixes and a four to take 21 runs in the first over.

Aaron George too began brightly, caressing Sayyam for three fours in a row in the fourth over as India raced off the block at 10 runs an over. But the game’s course changed in the last ball of the fourth over. George was jostled into a pull by Sayyam, and all he could do was to sky the short-pitched ball to Mohammad Shayan inside the circle. In the first ball of the fifth over, India suffered a body blow with the dismissal of Suryavanshi.

The left-hander went for a full-blooded pick-up shot off Raza, but the good-length ball, which had extra bounce on it, took the edge of the opener’s bat and nestled in the gloves of stumper Zahoor Hamza. Raza and Pakistan fielders celebrated wildly, and a few words were exchanged before Suryavanshi trudged off dejected. India slipped from 49 for 1 to 49 for three in the space of two balls, and it was just the beginning.

Vedant Trivedi and Kanishk Chouhan too fell to snorters as Pakistan pacers made the flat ICC Academy pitch look like the Road of Bones. India’s last hope — even if feeble — was the presence of Abhigyan Kundu, and a drop on 12 off Subhan hinted at a possible shifting of fortune.

But all such hopes were trampled when Kundu’s upper cut two balls later after his reprieve found Niqab Shafiq at third man. Earlier, Pakistan opener Minhas struck a brilliant century as Pakistan motored to a humongous total. Minhas, the younger brother of Pakistan T20 player Arafat, went after every Indian bowler but was especially harsh on new-ball bowlers Kishan Singh and Deepesh Devendran.

Minhas brought up his century off 71 balls with a four in the 29th over off Devendran. This was Minhas’ second hundred in the competition having cracked an unbeaten 177 against Malaysia in the opening group match.

Minhas’ six in the 28th over, where he used his feet to launch a Mhatre delivery high up in the air to deep mid-wicket, had class written all over it. The 19-year-old looked set for a double century but he was tricked by a slower delivery from Devendran (3/83) to be caught at mid-on. It was smooth sailing for Pakistan after Hamza Zahoor (18) departed early. Zahoor’s dismissal brought in Usman Khan (35) and, together with Minhas, took the total to 123 — a partnership that yielded 92 runs.

Left-handed Ahmed Hussain, who too has enjoyed a rich vein of form in the tournament scoring a century and half-ton, struck a fine 56 before left-arm spinner Khilan Patel (2/44) enticed the middle-order batter to play the false sweep and gave a catch at mid-wicket. His 137-run partnership with Minhas provided the deck for Pakistan to go for a big total.