KARACHI:
Mohit Ulva (49 not out) and Manal Chauhan (47) did magical batting in the death overs as India defeated Pakistan by just one wicket in the final to win Under-19 Asia Cup crown at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman.
Set to chase 338 India needed eight off the last over from leg-spinner Ahmad Hussain and three off the final ball. Mohit hit a superb four to bring in a sensational win for India.
Earlier Usman Khan (107) and Abdul Qadir (80) propelled Pakistan to 337-9 in the allotted 50 overs.
At one stage India were reeling at 252-8 and it seemed that they would not be able to chase the target.
However Manal and Mohit did a stunning job to help India reclaim the title.
Mohit hammered three sixes and five fours in his 26-ball 49 not out.
Manal chipped in with a sensational 32-ball 47, hitting three sixes and three fours.
Set to chase a stiff target of 338, India made a patient start, with openers Lakshya Raichandani and Aaryavir Sehwag putting together a 95-run partnership. Left-arm spinner Niqab Shafiq provided the much-needed breakthrough when he dismissed Aaryavir, who was caught in the deep by Usman Khan.
Aaryavir, son of former India great Virender Sehwag, struck nine fours in his 58 off 61 balls.
VK Vineeth then joined skipper Raichandani, and the pair added 51 runs for the second wicket before Rizwanullah dismissed Vineeth. Attempting a pull shot, Vineeth failed to time the ball and was caught by Usman Khan at close range. He scored 24 off 21 balls, including three fours.
India were 126-2 in the 27th over, with the required run rate continuing to climb.
Arjun Rajput then came but could not go deep after hitting 18-ball 16 with twosixes before removed by Rizwanullah, held behind the stumps. And India were 172-3 in 31 overws.
Pakistan continued to put pressure on India when Hasnain Abbas Dar got rid of Yashbardhan Chauhan (9) to leave India reeling at 186-4.
Lakshya and stumper Anvay Dravid shared 31 runs before Ali Raza had the danger man Lakshya to pave way for Pakistan’s win.
Lakshya, who completed his fifty off 72 balls, smashed five fours in his 80 which came off 101 balls.
And off the next ball Dravid got run out for a 12-ball 19 to leave India reeling.
Rizwanullah then had Aryan Savsani (9) before Mohammad Sayyam getting rid of Kavya Patel (0) to leave India on the brink of defeat.
However at this stage a real drama started with Mohit and Chauhan making a glorious effort to foil Pakistan’s efforts to defend the title.
Rizwanullah was the pick of the bowlers with 3-53 while Niqab Shafiq got 2-57.
Earlier Usman Khan blasted his second century of the tournament while Abdul Qadir did some lusty hitting as Pakistan posted 337-9 against India in the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup being held in Oman.
Usman smashed 107 off 111 balls and Abdul Qadir hammered a rapid 54-ball 80 to guide Pakistan to a formidable total on a batting track after electing to bat first.
The duo batted freely and especially Abdul Qadir lifted the pressure off his partner Usman with glorious hitting.
Qadir, who brought in his fifty off 39 balls, smashed eight towering sixes and three fours in his 54-ball 80 before being removed by Arjun Rajput.
The duo added 135 runs for the second wicket stand that paved way for posting a decent total in the crunch slot.
Usman, on the other hand, was more judicious in approach and engineered some magnificent strokes towards all corners of the ground to bring in his second hundred of the event.
Usman, who belongs to Peshawar, brought in his fifty off 46 balls and century off 106 deliveries, smashing 11 fours and three sixes in his fine knock. Kavya Paresh Patel removed Usman, held by Arjun Rajput.
Earlier Usman was also in involved in a 62-run opening stand with Hayam Khan, who made 23-ball 21, striking four fours.
And it was the same opening stand which lifted the pressure off the rest of the batting.
The set stage was then usefully capitalised by skipper Farhan Yousaf who hammered his second fifty of the event.
Farhan smashed 60-ball 63, hitting three magnificent sixes and four fours to guide his side past 300-run mark at a stage which mattered the most.
There were a few good overs for Pakistan which yielded substantial runs.
In the ninth over of the innings Qadir smashed Kavya Patel for two sixes and a four and the over yielded 16 runs.
In the tenth over bowled by Manal Chauhan Pakistan plundered 15 runs. Usman started with a four and Qadir then hit the bowler for a four and six.
The 33rd over yielded 16 runs with Farhan hitting Arjun for a four and six after Usman had hit him for a four.
The 23rd over from Manal Chauhan saw Pakistan scoring 19 runs with Qadir hitting two successive sixes and Usman smashing a four.
Indian bowlers clawed back in the end as they checked the Pakistani batsmen.
In the last five overs Pakistan scored only 32 runs. Kavya Patel was the pick of the bowlers with 4-68 in ten overs while Chigurupati Venkata got 3-40 in five overs.