Sameer Minhas guides Pakistan to 347/8 against India in U19 Asia Cup final
Dubai: Pakistan opener Sameer Minhas gave another glimpse of his precocious talent when he scored a magnificent century (his second in the tournament) as Pakistan posted a steep 347 for 8 in the over-50 men’s U19 Asian Cup final here on Sunday.
Minhas, one of the standout players of his team in the event, made 172 from 113 deliveries while fulfilling the wishes of his team, which lost the group match to their arch-rivals by 90 runs on the same field.
Pakistan, who reached the final with a clinical eight-wicket semi-final win against last season’s champions Bangladesh, did not allow India to calm down as they opted to bowl.
Minhas, the younger brother of Pakistan T20 player Arafat Minhas, who played a key role by making an unbeaten half-century in the semi-final on Friday, went after every bowler but was especially harsh on new bowlers Kishan Singh and Deepesh Devendran.
Minhas, whose innings was peppered with 17 boundaries and nine sixes, brought up his century with 71 balls, scoring four in the 29th over against Devendran.
This was Minhas’ second hundred of the competition, with an unbeaten score of 177 against Malaysia in the opening group match.
The 19-year-old looked set for a double century and joined the likes of India’s Abhigyan Kundu and South Africa’s Jorich Van Schalkwyk in the 200-plus elite clubs.
But Devendran’s slower delivery (3/83) saw him caught midway through the game as the India pacer enjoyed his first wicket of the match after being plundered by the prolific opener.
Minhas’ big six in the 28th over had a lesson written all over it as he used his feet to blast an airborne Ayush Mhatre delivery deep into the wicket.
It was smooth sailing for Pakistan as Hamza Zahoor (18) departed early and took the simplest catch at mid-on, falling victim to a tough stumping line.
Zahoor’s dismissal brought in Usman Khan (35) and with Minhas the total took to 123; it was a partnership that resulted in 92 picks.
Left-hander Ahmed Hussain, who has a rich vein of form in the tournament with a century and a half-ton, played a fine knock of 56 before left-arm spinner Khilan Patel (2/44) persuaded the middle-order batsman to play sweep and take a catch at mid-wicket.
His 137-year partnership with Minhas has enabled Pakistan to achieve great success.
India have won the tournament a record eight times since its inception in 1989. In 2012, they were joint winners with Pakistan when the match ended in a draw.
Pakistan have only lifted the trophy once, when they won jointly with their arch-rivals in Malaysia.
