Pakistan’s Azan Awais shines for posting unbeaten century to chase down 260-run target
- Green Shirts start on high note claiming two wickets early.
- Zeeshan stars with four wickets to his name.
- 110-run stand between Shahzaib, Azan cruises Pakistan to victory.
Pakistan U19 squad registered a resounding eight-wicket victory over India in the fifth match of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19s Asia Cup at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on Sunday.
India had handed Pakistan a 260-run target, courtesy of Sachin Dhas’ late scoring down the order.
However, Pakistan cruised to the target with much ease, doing so in 47 overs and eight wickets in the bag, with the help of a 110-run partnership between Shahzaib Khan and Azan Awais.
The Green Shirts started on a high note as Amir Hassan and Mohammad Zeeshan downed two wickets early on, leaving the Blues 46-2 in just 11.2 overs.
However, opener Adarsh Singh formed a much-needed 93-run stand with middle-order batter and skipper Uday Saharan as the former scored 62 off 81 before becoming the victim of Arafat Minhas.
After Singh’s wicket, India lost two more wickets in quick succession, but Saharan stayed on the pitch and kept on contributing crucial runs.
He was eventually removed by Ubaid Shah for 60 runs, leaving India 206-6 in 42.5 overs.
It looked like the Men in Green would restrict the Blues within 230 runs but Sachin Dhas continued to charge against the Green Shirts and eventually took his side to a competitive 260-run target by scoring a quick 58 off 32 with two fours and three sixes.
Zeeshan starred for Pakistan with four wickets to his name while Amir and Ubaid bagged two each.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Playing XIs
India U19: Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Rudra Patel, Uday Saharan (c), Musheer Khan, Sachin Dhas, Aravelly Avanish (wk), Saumy Pandey, Murugan Abhishek, Raj Limbani, Naman Tiwari
Pakistan U19: Shamyl Hussain, Shahzaib Khan, Azan Awais, Saad Baig (c & wk), Mohammad Zeeshan, Mohammad Riazullah, Tayyab Arif, Arafat Minhas, Ali Asfand, Amir Hassan, Ubaid Shah
