LAHORE: A swashbuckling 172 by opener Sameer Minhas and fiery fast bowling by Ali Raza, Mohammad Sayyam and Abdul Subhan earned Pakistan a thumping 191-run victory over traditional rivals India in the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup final at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on Sunday.

Sameer clobbered 17 fours and nine sixes in a high-quality 113-ball knock that propelled Pakistan to 347 for eight after they were 302 for four in 43 overs. The trio of Ali, Sayyam and Subhan then shared eight wickets between them as India, after sprinting to 49 for two in four overs, plummeted to 156 all out in 26.2 overs.

This was Pakistan’s sweet revenge for their 90-run loss to India last week, and their second successive ACC title in a pathway tournament after they had defeated Bangladesh in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars in Qatar last month. The title triumph will also provide the teenagers with much-needed confidence ahead of next month’s African Safari, where they will feature in a three-nation tournament, which will be followed by the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup.

This was Pakistan’s second ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup title after they shared the 2012 trophy with India following a tied match at Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur. Additionally, this was team manager/mentor Sarfaraz Ahmed’s fourth title, following his wins in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2006, ACC Asia Cup 2012, and the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

The final itself will, however, be remembered for Sameer Minhas’s sublime innings that completely overshadowed a highly-rated Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who managed only 26 off 10 balls before falling to fast bowler Ali Raza.

Sameer ruthlessly treated every India bowler, punishing them to all parts of the ground with precise placing and timing. His shot selection was near-perfect, with every stroke seemingly coming from the middle of the bat.

Unsurprisingly, Sameer dominated all four partnerships he was involved in. For the first wicket with Hamza Zahoor, Sameer put on 31, which was followed by a 92-run second-wicket partnership with Usman Khan (35, 45b, 3×4, 1×6). For the third wicket, Sameer added 137 runs with Ahmed Hussain, whose contribution was a clean 72-ball 56 with three fours and a six. For the fourth wicket, Sameer added 42 runs with skipper Farhan Yousuf.

However, Pakistan were unable to truly capitalise on Sameer’s heroics and the solid platform, adding only 45 runs in the last seven overs for the loss of four wickets to finish on 347 for eight.

That late stumble was nullified by the pace trio of Ali Raza, Mohammad Sayyam and Abdul Subhan, who shocked the India top order with fast, hostile bowling.

Ali Raza, who went for 20 in his first over and dropped Suryavanshi in India’s second, came back strongly to dismiss Ayush Mhatre (2), Suryavanshi (26) and Kanishk Chouhan (9) before picking up the last wicket to finish with figures of 6.2-0-42-4.

Sayyam accounted for Aaron George (16) and Vedant Trivedi (9) to end with 2-38, while Subhan picked up the wickets of Vihaan Malhotra (7) and Abhigyan Kundu (13) to finish with 2-29. The remaining two wickets were collected by off-spinner Huzaifa Ahsan, who conceded 12 runs.

No.10 batter Deepesh Devendran was India’s top scorer with 36 and was involved in a 36-run 10th-wicket partnership — his side’s highest of the final.

Scores in brief:

Pakistan Men’s U19 beat India Men’s U19 by 191 runs, ICC Academy

Pakistan 347-8, 50 overs (Sameer Minhas 172, Ahmed Hussain 56, Usman Khan 35, Farhan Yousuf 19, Hamza Zahoor 18; Deepash Devendran 3-83, Khilan Patel 2-44, Henil Patel 2-62)

India 156 all-out, 26.2 overs (Deepesh Devendran 36, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 26, Khilan Patel 19; Ali Raza 4-42; Huzaifa Ahsan 2-12, Abdul Subhan 2-29, Mohammad Sayyam 2-38)

Player of the final – Sameer Minhas (Pakistan)