The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Under-19 team wasted a great opportunity to secure their first win of the Under-19 Asia Cup on Saturday, December 25, after they restricted the Afghanistan Under-19 team within a mere total of 194/9 in 50 overs.
In reply, UAE could only manage to score 54 and six of their batsmen could not even score a single run. Only two of their batsmen - Aayan Afzal Khan (14 not out) and Nilansh Keswani (15) could manage to reach the double digits.
Noor scores a ton
For Afghanistan, batsman Allah Noor scored 100 runs (off 123 deliveries) out of his team’s total 194 runs. His innings was comprised of 11 boundaries and 1 six.
Apart from Noor, only one more player for Afghanistan – Izharulhaq Naveed (24 off 53) – managed to reach the double digits.
For UAE, Nilansh Keswani was the best bowler as he picked up two wickets.
UAE opener Aryansh Sharma was the first batsman to depart for a naught. The 17-year-old wicketkeeper could face just one ball in the match. Next UAE batsman to be dismissed was Dhruv Parashar who also failed to score a run.
Skipper Alishan Sharafu managed to open his account but his inning did not go on for too long as he was sent back to the pavilion scoring just 3 runs. Punya Mehra and Soorya Sathish also could not manage to score a run.
For Afghanistan, bowlers Bilal Sami and Khalel Ahmad picked up three wickets each.
The massive victory turned out to be the first win for the Afghanistan team and now they have two points from two matches. UAE on the other hand, are yet to clinch their first victory in the tournament after playing two matches.
Pakistan beat India
The other two teams of Group A – India and Pakistan – faced each other in the other fixture and Pakistan defeated India by two wickets in a thrilling contest on Saturday (December 25).
Ahmad Khan, with the last ball boundary, earned the victory for Pakistan in a clash which went down to wire. Shehzad was the top scorer for Pakistan as he scored 81 in the team's victory.
Earlier, India rode on Aaradhya Yadav’s 50-run knock which was well complimented by opener Harnoor Singh as they registered a target of 238 for the arch-rival Pakistan.
