Pakistan edged past India by two wickets in a cracker of a contest in the Under-19 Asia Cup on Saturday (December 25). Ahmad Khan, with the last ball boundary, won it for Pakistan in a contest which went down to wire. Shehzad remained the top scorer for Pakistan as he scored 81 in the team's victory.
India rode on Aaradhya Yadav’s modest 50-run knock which was well complimented by Harnoor Singh as they posted a target of 238 for the arch-rival Pakistan in the high-octane contest in the Under-19 Asia Cup on Saturday (December 25).
Bowling first, Pakistan got the early breakthrough for the score of 1 in the form of opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi who was sent to pavilion for a duck. Before the other opener Harnoor Singh tried to steady the boat, India were jolted again as they lost two of their wickets in quick succession which left the scoreboard at 14/3.
However, Harnoor showed the grit and kept the scoreboard moving with an instrumental knock of 46. But he didn’t get the support in the middle which also saw the captain Yash Dhull getting out for golden duck. Aaradhya came to India rescue with his splendid 83-ball knock where he struck three boundaries.
Down the order Kaushal Tambe (32) and Rajvardhan Hangargekar (33) also contributed well to help India reach a respectable total of 237.
Zeeshan Zameer was the pick of the bowler for Pakistan as he returned with a sensational spell of 5 for 60. Awais Ali also plucked two wickets for the side.
Batting second, Muhammad Shehzad took the mantle for Pakistan and start bashing Indian bowlers left, right, centre as he struck an impressive 81 which was loaded with five sixed and four boundaries. Later, he got run out Hangerkar which left the match in a fix again. Captain Qasim Akram tried to bolster the Pakistan but was found lbw off Sindhu ball. From there the match was anybody’s game with Indian bolwers keeping a check on the opponent batters but Pakistan took the game to the wire.
At the end, Pakistan needed 8 runs off the last over. Ahmad Khan, with his crucial 29 off 19, rose to the occasion and pulled off a thrilling victory for Pakistan.
Raj Bawa stood tall with an exceptional spell of 4/56 but failed to save India from blushes.
