Muscat, 14 November: Mohit Ulva hit the last ball of the Under-19 Asia Cup final for four as India beat Pakistan by one wicket at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground on Saturday. Set 338 to win, India finished on 339 for 9, with Ulva unbeaten on 49 off 26 balls.
The win gives India their ninth Under-19 Asia Cup title, more than any other side, and their first since 2021. It also makes up for two defeats by Pakistan: the 191-run loss in last year’s final in Dubai and a three-wicket loss in the group stage of this tournament six days ago.
Ulva was named Player of the Match. Opener Aaryavir Sehwag, who made 58 in the final, was Player of the Series with 361 runs.
Pakistan post 337 after a fast start
Pakistan won the toss and batted. Opener Usman Khan made 107 off 111 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes, and put on 135 for the second wicket with Abdul Qadir, who hit eight sixes in his 80 off 54 balls. Pakistan were 204 for 2 after 30 overs and heading for a total well past 350.
India’s bowlers pulled them back. Captain Farhan Yousaf scored 63 off 60 balls, but Pakistan managed only 63 runs in the last ten overs and lost six wickets doing it, slipping from 299 for 3 to 337 for 9. Seamer Kavya Patel took 4 for 68, and Chigurupati Venkata, in his first match of the tournament, took 3 for 40 in five overs. Wicketkeeper Anvay Dravid held a catch and ran out Mohammad Sayyam.
Raichandani and Sehwag lay the base
India’s openers started steadily. Sehwag hit eight fours in his 61-ball 58, and India were 89 without loss after 17 overs. Captain Lakshya Raichandani then held the innings together with 80 off 101 balls as wickets fell at the other end.
His dismissal, caught at midwicket off Ali Raza, started a slide. India went from 217 for 4 to 252 for 8, needing 86 off 51 balls. Rizwanullah finished with 3 for 53 and Niqab Shafiq with 2 for 57, and Pakistan needed only two more wickets.
Manal Chauhan and Ulva turn the chase
Manal Chauhan, batting at No. 7, took Pakistan on. He hit three fours and three sixes in 47 off 32 balls and added 57 for the ninth wicket with Ulva in 35 balls. When Niqab Shafiq had him caught by Usman Khan, India still needed 29 with one wicket left.
Venkata, the No. 11, stayed with Ulva and added 11 off eight balls of his own. The pair put on an unbroken 30. India needed eight off the final over, bowled by legspinner Ahmed Hussain. Five came off the first five balls, including a wide, which left three needed off the last. Ulva stepped out and drove it to the boundary.
“I knew it was my day”
Ulva, who came in at No. 10, said he never doubted he could finish the chase. “I knew it was my day and I’ll finish the game,” he said. “I had belief in God. The Asia Cup hadn’t been that great for me as a bowler. But I believe in me that I am an allrounder.”
He said he went into the final over “just waiting for one ball”, and that the message in the dressing room during the chase had been simple: “They made a score, so we can make it too.”
Ulva had been dismissed against Pakistan in the group game and was hit on the arm during this innings. “It was hurting, but I knew if I stayed in the middle, it would keep pressure on Pakistan,” he said.
Raichandani called the chase “a rollercoaster ride”. “We believed in ourselves to chase this target down,” he said. “We had the belief that we would be able to chase it down as the wicket was very good for batting. I always believed in the batting strength of our lower order. We were playing with almost 11 batters.”
How India reached the final
India opened with a 10-wicket win over Nepal, with Sehwag making 70 not out and Raichandani 53 not out. After the loss to Pakistan, they had to beat the UAE to reach the semi-finals and did so by 70 runs, with Sehwag scoring 160 off 168 balls for his maiden Youth ODI hundred. They then got past Afghanistan in the semi-final to set up the rematch.
Sehwag is the son of former India opener Virender Sehwag, and Dravid is the son of former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid.
Raichandani thanked the supporters after the presentation. “I thank the fans for their support and request them to keep supporting us,” he said.
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