Dubai. Thanks to Shahzeb Khan's brilliant innings of 159 runs, Pakistan defeated India by 43 runs in the Group A match of the ACC Men's Under19 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Shahzeb played a brilliant innings with the help of five fours and 10 skyscraper sixes in 147 balls and took Pakistan's innings to 281 runs for seven wickets. The Mansehraborn opening batsman stitched a 160run partnership with Usman Khan, who contributed 60 runs off 94 balls. This partnership set the tone for Pakistan's innings, with Shahzeb making a vital partnership of 71 runs with Muhammad Riazullah (27) for the third wicket.
India's bowling was led by Samarth Nagaraj, who took 3 for 45, while Ayush Mhatre took 2 for 30. In reply, India got off to a bad start and lost four wickets for 81 runs in 15 overs. Ali Raza destroyed the top order by taking 3 wickets for 36 runs in nine overs.
Muchhyped Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who was bought by Rajasthan Royals at the age of 13 for a price of Rs 1.10 crore in the 2025 IPL mega auction, was out after scoring one run. Nikhil Kumar played a fighting inning of 67 runs in 77 balls, in which Harvansh Pangalia (26) and Kiran Chormale (20) also got good support. However, the target proved difficult to achieve and India were all out for 238 runs in 47.1 overs. Abdul Subhan and FahamulHaq took two wickets each.
Shahzeb received the Player of the Match award for his brilliant innings. Pakistan's next match will be against UAE on December 2, aiming to make it to the semifinals. India will face Japan on the same day to avenge its defeat.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.