Pakistan beat India by two wickets to reach U19 Asia Cup semi-finals

Pakistan on Saturday defeated archrivals India by two wickets in a last-ball thriller to register their second consecutive win in the Under19 Asia Cup in Dubai.

With this emphatic win, the Greenshirts topped Group A with four points and also secured a spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Chasing 238, Pakistan required eight runs from the last over, but lost Zeeshan Zameer for a nought on the first ball. Tail-enders Ahmed Khan and Ali Asfand managed six runs in the next four balls to bring it down to two runs off the final ball. It was when Ahmed, who scored 29 off 34 balls in the match, sent the last ball for a boundary that Pakistan managed to pull off the thrilling win.

Fast bowler Zeeshan Zemeer’s five-wicket haul and top-order batter Mohammad Shehzad’s fine innings of 81 runs were the highlights of the show.

Pakistan beat Afghanistan in U19 Asia Cup opener

Earlier, after being put in to bat, India were bowled out for 237 in 49th over, courtesy of Zeeshan Zameer’s three wickets upfront. He took two more wickets in his last spell to finish with the figures five for 60 in eight overs.

Aaradhya Yadav was the top scorer for India with 50 off 83. Harnoor Singh, 46, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, 33, and Kaushal Tambe, 32 were other contributors with the bat.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Shehzad was declared player of the match for his innings of 81.

“This was a huge game against India and it was my dream to put in a contribution that would help Pakistan win, and I did that,” Shehzad said in the post-match ceremony.

Earlier, Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by four wickets in the inaugural match of the Under19 Asia Cup on December 23. They will now face UAE in their last group match on Monday at the ICC Cricket Academy Ground in Dubai.