India defeat Pakistan by 1 wicket to clinch U-19 Asia Cup title

India defeated Pakistan by 1 wicket in a thrilling U-19 Asia Cup final with Mohit Ulva and Manal Chauhan playing the match of their lives to hand their country a hard fought win in Oman's Al Amerat. Ulva and Chauhan put up a 57-run partnership after most of India's big guns were back in the hut, with the match looking beyond them.

But the duo's 9th wicket partnership as well as Chigurupati Venkata's 11 runs proved to be the difference as the boys in blue clinched the Asia Cup title. This was the repeat of last year's final where Pakistan had come out on top but this time India's lower order stood form and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Anvay Dravid tried to let loose with a few boundaries, but he was run out for 19 runs, and with him, India's chance of staying alive in the match almost evaporated. Earlier, Pakistan opener Usman Khan struck a composed 107, guiding the defending champions to a strong 337 for nine against India.

Usman first stitched a quick 62-run alliance with his opening partner Hayam Khan in just 8.1 overs. But that was just an appetiser as Usman, who reached his hundred in 106 balls, and one-down batter Abdul Qadir (80) milked 135 runs in a mere 18 overs as Pakistan got a serious middle-order move-on.

Qadir was the lead partner, making 80 in just 54 balls, and reached his maiden Youth ODI fifty in 39 balls. He carted left-arm spinner Manal Chauhan and off-spinner Yashbardhdan Chauhan for two sixes in a row. But Qadir's aggression eventually ended his stay as an uppish drive off Arjun Rajput ended in the hands of VK Vineeth at covers.

Usman too did not last long as a rather wild slash off pacer Kavya Patel (4/68) was snaffled by Rajput at mid-off. At 240 for three in 36 overs, Pakistan had a fine platform to move further away from India. Skipper Farhan Yousaf made a 63-ball 60 to help Pakistan go past 300.

Pacers Kavya and C Venkata (3/40) picked up some late wickets, but by then Pakistan had already reached a big score. Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.