Pakistan Under-19s will defend their Asia Cup title against India on Saturday, November 14, at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman, after India beat Afghanistan by eight wickets in Thursday’s second semi-final. Pakistan reached the final by beating Bangladesh by nine wickets in Thursday’s first semi-final, so Saturday is a rematch of the group game Pakistan won by three wickets on November 8, and a repeat of last December’s final, which Pakistan won by 191 runs.
From 191 runs to three wickets
The two sides have met twice since last December, and Pakistan won both. In the final in Dubai on December 21 last year, Pakistan posted 347 for 8, built on Sameer Minhas’s 172 off 113 balls, and bowled India out for 156 to win by 191 runs. It was Pakistan’s first outright Asia Cup title, after the two sides shared the 2012 trophy. In the group game at Al Amerat on November 8, the margin collapsed. India were 22 for 3 before Arjun Rajput’s 107 carried them to 208, and Pakistan needed an unbeaten 100 from Hamza Zahoor to get home by three wickets, with 11 balls to spare. The gap has shrunk from 191 runs to three wickets. Saturday decides whether that was India closing in, or Pakistan simply winning tight games as well as loose ones.
Two semi-finals, two different wins
Pakistan, who went into the semi-final unbeaten, bowled Bangladesh out for 138 in 31.4 overs, Rizwanullah taking five for 30, and chased the target in 21.5 overs, losing one wicket. India chased a much bigger target, 228, against an Afghanistan side that had won all three of its group games, and reached 230 for 2 in 36.5 overs, with captain Lakshya Raichandani making 93. Balls to spare flatters both chases, because the targets were different. Overs used is the cleaner measure. Pakistan used 21.5 of their 50 overs and left 28.1 unused. India used 36.5 and left 13.1. Pakistan’s semi-final was the more complete win, but India beat the stronger side on the day, and the two finalists lost only three wickets between them in their semi-finals.
The group table flatters India
India finished the group stage with a better net run rate than Pakistan, plus 1.533 against plus 1.186, despite losing the game between them. The reason is the size of India’s wins: ten wickets against Nepal and 70 runs against the UAE, built on Aaryavir Sehwag’s 160. Pakistan’s wins were tighter where it mattered: nine wickets against the UAE, three wickets against India, and 101 runs against Nepal. Net run rate rewards routs. The head-to-head rewards the team that wins the game in front of it. Both numbers are true, and they point in different directions, which is why Saturday is a formality for neither side.
Four wins, four heroes
Pakistan have won four games with four different men doing the damage. Usman Khan made an unbeaten 139 off 120 balls against the UAE. Hamza Zahoor made an unbeaten 100 against India. Ahmed Hussain made 89 and took four for 35 against Nepal. Rizwanullah took five for 30 in the semi-final, after openers Hayam Khan and Usman Khan had put on 123. No single player carries this side. India have their own spread of heroes. Sehwag’s 160 set up the win over the UAE, Rajput’s 107 nearly saved the group game against Pakistan, and in the semi-final the top three did the job: Raichandani 93, Sehwag 51 and VK Vineeth unbeaten on 57. The two captains, Farhan Yousaf for Pakistan and Raichandani for India, lead sides that have found a new match-winner in every game.
What to watch on Saturday
The first ten overs of each innings will matter. Pakistan’s openers put on 123 in the semi-final. India’s put on 117 in theirs, Raichandani and Sehwag, before Sehwag fell for 51. Whichever pair survives the new ball will set the game up. History favours neither side outright. This is the fourth time the two have met in an Under-19 Asia Cup final. The first, in 2012, ended in a tie at 282 each and a shared trophy. India won the second, in 2013-14, by 40 runs. Pakistan won the third, last December, by 191 runs. India have won the title eight times, Pakistan twice, and India are playing their 11th final. The final starts at 10:00am Pakistan time on Saturday at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Ministry Turf 2. Meanwhile in Rawalpindi, the senior side’s Test against Sri Lanka heads into its final day on Friday, after Saqib Khan took seven wickets on his Test debut.
