Dubai, Dec 20 (NationPress) Sarfaraz Ahmed, the former captain of Pakistan and current mentor for the Under-19 team, is hopeful that his players can triumph over India in the upcoming Junior Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday, echoing the remarkable victory of the 2017 Champions Trophy.

In a previous group match, Pakistan faced a defeat against India in Birmingham, losing by 124 runs. However, they made a stunning comeback to clinch the Champions Trophy final, winning by 180 runs at The Oval.

In this tournament, Pakistan Under-19 has also suffered a significant defeat in their group match, losing by 90 runs. Yet, they now have another chance to secure the title outright.

India holds the record for the most titles in the U-19 Asia Cup, having won it eight times since its inception in 1989, while Pakistan's sole victory was in 2012, which was shared with India.

Sarfaraz expressed that it would be wonderful for the junior team to put aside the earlier defeat. He stated, 'If it goes like the Champions Trophy 2017, then it would be fantastic,' as reported by Telecomasia.net. 'I have shared the 2017 experience with the players, and it is now up to them to create a memorable occasion.'

Sarfaraz, who led Pakistan to victory in the 2017 Champions Trophy, also guided the team to their second and latest Under-19 World Cup title back in 2006.

He believes that the earlier loss was primarily due to poor batting. 'We got them bowled out for 240, which was a reasonable target, but our batting was too slow, so I have advised the players to adopt an aggressive approach and play without fear.'

In the group match, Pakistan had previously defeated India by 43 runs, with Shahzaib Khan smashing ten sixes in his innings of 159.

In the ongoing eight-team tournament, Pakistan has won two out of their three Group 'A' matches, advancing to the final by defeating Bangladesh by eight wickets in the semi-final on December 19.

For the title match, Pakistan will be banking on their batting star Sameer Minhas, who has accumulated 299 runs in four matches, including one century and one half-century. In terms of bowling, right-arm pacer Abdul Subhan has emerged as the top performer with 11 wickets from three matches, while left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Sayyam has claimed eight wickets to date.

'Subhan and Sameer are promising talents for the future. We need to win this final to boost our morale ahead of the World Cup,' Sarfaraz remarked, referring to the major event set to take place in Zimbabwe and Kenya starting January 15.

Prior to the Junior World Cup, Pakistan will participate in a tri-series against Afghanistan and host Zimbabwe, scheduled from December 25 to January 6, which will serve as essential preparation for the ICC U19 World Cup.