Arjun Rajput's fighting 107 goes in vain as Hamza Zahoor powers Pakistan to three-wicket win over India in U19 Asia Cup

Pakistan held their nerves to win an edge-of-your-seat affair against India in the ongoing Under-19 Asia Cup. That extends Pakistan's winning streak to two matches at the start of their campaign. India will look to bounce back from this defeat against their arch-rivals and win their next game against the UAE.

Aryavir Sehwag had negotiated the initial dangerous spell and looked settled in the middle. The introduction of left-arm spinner Niqab Shafiq was an invitation for him to shift gears and assert himself against the Pakistan bowling. However, his sweep did not find the middle of the bat and resulted in an easy catch for Mohammad Sayyam at deep mid-wicket, ending his innings on 22 off 40 balls.

Arjun Rajput was watching all this from the other end. He, too, was struggling, as his shots did not come easily on the track. In the 18th over, Rajput drove a ball on the up, past the bowler for a boundary, and that seemed to shift something in his approach. Rajput started connecting better and stamping his authority in the middle.

In the meantime, Anvay Dravid was sent back for 10 off 16 as India slipped to 86/5. Manal Chauhan arrived at the crease, and he played the perfect second fiddle to Rajput. While other batters were finding it difficult even to rotate the strike, Rajput was apparently batting on a completely different pitch. He was finding boundaries with ease and kept pushing towards his century.

The young left-hander reached three figures off just 80 balls and, in the process, brought India close to 200. After the 64-run partnership between Manal and Rajput, India suffered another collapse. Rajput was finally dismissed by Ullah for 107 off 85 deliveries.

Kavya Patel contributed a valuable 23 off 45 balls in the lower order. He depended mainly on singles and twos and worked with the tailenders to take India’s total to 208. Pakistan bundled out the Boys in Blue in the 47th over. Ali Raza, Rizwan Ullah and Niqab Shafiq claimed three wickets each.

Abdul Qadir and Ahmed Hussain then struck a small partnership, negating a testing spell from the Indian bowlers. They stitched together a partnership of 22 runs and were looking settled when Manal got the better of Qadir with a brilliant delivery.

This resulted in a mini-collapse, during which Pakistan lost three wickets and added just 6 to their total. At 61/5, Pakistan were staring down the barrel. But then Hasnain Abbas and Hamza Zahoor decided to turn things around. Abbas played the supporting role, while Zahoor played the aggressor.

The duo stitched together a partnership of 107 runs and brought Pakistan to the doorstep of a memorable win. But just when it looked like Pakistan would cruise through to victory, Manal provided India with the important wicket of Hasnain (38 off 67). The sixth wicket, with 41 runs still left, gave India a lifeline.

Zahoor held on and was crucial for Pakistan’s chances in the game. But Mohit Ulva picked up the wicket of Sayyam and kept India in the game heading into the final seven overs. However, there was no stopping Zahoor. He kept his calm, played out the difficult phase, and remained unbeaten on 100 to take his team to a three-wicket win.