How Did Minhas’ Blazing 172 Propel Pakistan to a 191-Run Win Over India in the U19 Asia Cup?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Sameer Minhas scored an impressive 172 runs.
- Pakistan won the U19 Asia Cup for the first time.
- India faced their heaviest defeat in Youth ODIs.
- Pakistan posted a formidable score of 347 runs.
- Ali Raza took 4 wickets for Pakistan.
Dubai, Dec 21 (NationPress) Sameer Minhas delivered an explosive performance, scoring a remarkable 172 runs off just 113 balls, leading Pakistan to a dominant 191-run victory against a struggling India to secure the U19 Men’s Asia Cup championship at the ICC Academy Ground on Sunday.
This victory marked a significant milestone for Pakistan, as it is their first time clinching the U19 Men’s Asia Cup title, especially after sharing the 2012 edition with India due to a tied final. On the other hand, India faced their most substantial defeat in terms of runs in Youth ODIs, despite having an unbeaten streak until this match.
Opting to bat first on a pitch that favored aggressive batting, Pakistan showcased their prowess by amassing an impressive 347 runs for 8 wickets, with Minhas leading the assault by smashing 17 fours and 9 sixes.
Minhas also formed significant partnerships of 92 runs with Usman Khan (35 runs) and 137 runs with Ahmed Hussain (56 runs), completely dominating the Indian bowling attack, except for spinner Khilan Patel, who had a notable performance.
Despite their struggles, India managed to restrict Pakistan to 347 runs in the last 10 overs, keeping them from crossing the 350-run mark.
During the chase, India started positively, scoring 32 runs in just the first two overs. However, their innings quickly fell apart after the early dismissal of captain Ayush Mhatre in the third over.
As wickets continued to tumble, with only Deepesh Devendran offering some resistance by scoring 36 runs, India was bowled out for 156 runs in just 26.2 overs. Ali Raza was the star with the ball for Pakistan, taking 4 wickets for 42 runs.
Brief scores:
Pakistan U19: 347/8 in 50 overs (Sameer Minhas 172, Ahmed Hussain 56; Deepesh Devendran 3-83, Khilan Patel 2-44) beat India U19: 156 all out in 26.2 overs (Deepesh Devendran 36, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 26; Ali Raza 4-42, Huzaifa Ahsan 2-12) by 191 runs