KARACHI: Opener Sami Aslam continued his prolific form as Pakistan Under-19 beat India Under-19 by one run in a thrlling last-ball finish in the Under-19 Asia Cup on Sunday.
In a pulsating finish to the second Group A match being played at Kuala Lumpur’s Kinrara Oval ground, Mohammad Nawaz bowled a dot ball to end the match and India U19′s innings at 286-7.
IndiaU-19 were brought close to the target with the help of Vijay Zol’s unbeaten century (109), wayward Pakistan U-19 bowling and fielding as they gave away 28 runs and dropped two catches in the last two overs.
Zol was helped by captain Unmukt Chand (49) and Akshdeep Nath (42) but two wickets apiece from Nawaz and Akhtar Waheed kept the match balanced until the last delivery.
Earlier, Aslam led Pakistan’s assault with 121 runs, following-up on his 82 against Nepal U-19, in his innings of 15 fours and one six. He was helped by Imam-ul-Haq (88) and all-rounder Nawaz (42) as they took on the Indian bowling with 29 fours and three sixes in the total of 287-7. Left-arm pacers Rush Kalaria (4-54) and Mohsin Sayyed (2-63).
The win gives Pakistan six points and has all but assured their semi-final berth after they beat Nepal U-19 by eight wickets on Saturday. They play their last group match against hosts Malaysia U-19 on Tuesday.
India, meanwhile, have three points from their two matches. They beat Malaysia by eight wickets and face Nepal next on Tuesday, who beat Malaysia by 103 runs.
In Group B, Sri Lanka U-19 have beaten Afghanistan U-19 by four wickets and Bangladesh U-19 by 43 runs. Bangladesh, meanwhile, thrashed minnows Qatar U-19 by 328 runs earlier on Saturday.
The semi-finals will be played on Thursday and Friday, with the final is scheduled for Sunday.