U19 Asia Cup: India prevail in record chase against Pakistan in thrilling final

• India reclaim the Under-19 Asia Cup with a last-ball win over Pakistan, chasing 338.

• Lakshya’s 80 and Aaryavir Sehwag’s 58 set up the chase before India slip to 252/8.

• Manal Chauhan and Mohit rescue India, with Mohit hitting the winning boundary.

Lakshya Raichandani, Aaryavir Sehwag, Mohit Alva…remember the names though one does not know how many of them will go on to emulate the likes of a Shubman Gill or Arshdeep Singh. However, the maturity and composure the Under-19 Indian team showed to pull off a last-ball heist against arch-rivals Pakistan in a record chase to wrest back the ACC Asia Cup crown in Oman this evening would have done even their senior counterparts proud.

A total of 337 by the green shirts, built around a fine 107 by opener Usman Khan and Farhan Yousaf’s breezy 63 off 60 deliveries after they opted to bat, looked insurmountable for India on a slow track at the Al Amarat ground. The pressure on skipper Lakshya’s boys, if one looked at the bigger picture, was also understandable as Pakistan had dominated India by 191 runs in last year’s final and had also pipped them by three wickets in a closely fought league game earlier this year.

There was very little to choose from the two sides even till the last over - with India still needing eight runs. Mohit Ulva, who had added an invaluable 57 runs for the ninth wicket with Manal Chauhan, stepped out to lift spinner Hussain over the infield off the last ball for a four when they needed three to take his team over the line. The teammates made a dash for Mohit, the unlikely hero, whose 49 off 26 balls was an icing on the cake after extremely valuable contributions from top scorer Lakshya (80) and opener Aaryavir Sehwag (58).

It was a memorable tournament for Sehwag Jr, who showed he could be cut out for the long haul by emerging as the top scorer of the tournament with 361 runs off five matches. The captain and Aaryavir took the team off to a flying start before a middle order collapse saw them slide to 252 for eight. With still 85 runs to get and two tailenders in the middle, Pakistan were certainly sensing victory, but Manal and Mohit had other ideas. Manal (47 off 32 balls) and Mohit Ulva (49 not out) revived the chase, and it was indeed an edge-of-the seat thriller.

Pakistan's commanding total was anchored by centurion Usman Khan, alongside half-centuries from Abdul Qadir (80) and captain Farhan Yousaf (63). Kavya Patel (4/68) and Chigurupati Venkata (3/40) put the brakes in the middle overs when their rivals looked set for a 350-plus total, something which proved decisive in the end.