Mohit’s the man: Number ten ends Pak’s reign as India become U-19 Asian champs

At 252/8, it seemed the old script would hold. For all of India's supremacy over Pakistan in senior cricket, men's and women's alike, one category has followed a different trajectory — the Under-19 level, where Pakistan had won five of the previous seven Youth ODIs.

With 86 needed off 51 balls with just two wickets in hand, the writing seemed on the wall. Mohit Ulva buckled on his lid and made the long walk out with the scoreboard telling a stark story. When he took the lid off again, three-quarters of an hour later, India had everything they could have asked for and more.

They had the Under-19 Asia Cup after five years, getting the better of the defending champions, who had beaten them in the last title clash. Chasing 338, India won by the narrowest of margins, a boundary off the last ball with three runs needed and no batter left in the dressing room.

When Mohit strode out at number 10, all-rounder Manal Chauhan was at the other end. The latter turned down Mohit's call for a single off the last ball of the 42nd over, deciding to shoulder the burden himself. All the hard work, all the belief, all leading to this one moment.

☺️ India U19 are champions of Asia! What a feeling! 💙 — Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) November 14, 2026 Mohit had to earn his partner's trust first, and then the team's collective belief. It began with a four over midwicket in the next over, a stroke that missed being a six by a couple of inches.

Manal, having glimpsed what his partner could do, was now willing to hand him a few deliveries. With the required rate climbing beyond 11, the Gujarat seamer turned the chase on its head. A six over extra cover, another over long-off, and suddenly faith had been rekindled.

Manal showed it again when he took a single off the penultimate ball of that over, expecting his partner to see out the last. Mohit exceeded expectations. He sliced a near-perfect yorker through the gap between point and short third to get a boundary.

Mohit may have been placed at number 10 in the batting order, but he certainly didn't bat like one. By then, Manal had chosen to be a passenger, perhaps sensing something special at the other end. The onslaught went on. Rizwanullah, Pakistan's most effective bowler to that point, was hit for a four and a six in the 45th over, while Ali Raza was pulled for another six in the next.

The partnership swelled to 57 runs, and the scales were level. That was when Pakistan struck back, Niqab Shafiq ending Manal's innings at 47. It left 29 needed from 16 balls with one wicket in hand, and India's last two names in the line-up attempting the audacious.

Chigurupati Venkata would not have played the game had Ishan Sood, India's leading wicket-taker in the tournament, not picked up a niggle before the final. Now that he did, he made it a point to leave his mark, managing a couple of fours in his first six deliveries.

Eight were needed from the last six balls, victory was in India's sight, but Pakistan were still one delivery from glory. The first ball of the over, from leg-spinner Ahmad Hussain, was almost that. Mohit swung and met only air.

On the second, Hussain saw him dancing down the pitch and threw it wide, and Mohit dragged his feet back in time and got a run for a wide. Mohit Ulva turns the impossible into reality! 👌 A sensational unbeaten knock to take India to the U19 Asia Cup title in the most dramatic fashion.