India faltered against the big-hitting Sameer Minhas and the extra zip of pacers, suffering a massive 191-run defeat against Pakistan in a one-sided 50-over Under-19 Asia Cup final, in Dubai on Sunday.
Pakistan lifted their second U19 Asia Cup, and as it is the norm now, there was no formal greetings between the players of two teams.
Once Pakistan posted a mammoth 347 for eight, riding on Minhas' 172 (113b, 17x4, 9x6) they needed a lion-hearted chase to clinch a ninth title in the tournament.
But the tall Pakistan pace troika -- Ali Reza (4/42), Mohammad Sayyam (2/38) and Abdul Subhan (2/29) -- hurried their top-order with consistent hard-lengths as India folded for 156 in 26.2 overs.
However, India's chase began on an explosive note despite losing Ayush Mhatre early. Vaibhav Suryavanshi hammered Raza for two sixes and a four to take 21 runs in the first over.
Aaron George too began brightly, caressing Sayyam for three fours in a row in the fourth over as India raced off the block at 10 runs an over.
But the game's course changed in the last ball of the fourth over. George was jostled into a pull by Sayyam, and all he could do was to sky the short-pitched ball to Mohammad Shayan inside the circle.
In the first ball of the fifth over, India suffered a body blow with the dismissal of Suryavanshi.
The left-hander went for a full-blooded pick-up shot off Raza, but the good-length ball, which had extra bounce on it, took the edge of the opener's bat and nestled in the gloves of stumper Zahoor Hamza.
Raza and Pakistan fielders celebrated wildly, and a few words were exchanged before Suryavanshi trudged off dejected.
India slipped from 49 for 1 to 49 for three in the space of two balls, and it was just the beginning.
Vedant Trivedi and Kanishk Chouhan too fell to snorters as Pakistan pacers made the flat ICC Academy pitch look like the Road of Bones.
India's last hope was the presence of Abhigyan Kundu, and a drop on 12 off Subhan hinted at a possible shifting of fortune.
But all such hopes were trampled when Kundu's upper cut two balls later after his reprieve found Niqab Shafiq at third man.
Pakistan opener Sameer Minhas once again gave a glimpse into his precocious talent, striking a brilliant century -- his second in the tournament -- as Pakistan made a steep 347 for 8 in an engrossing 50-over men's U19 Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday.
Minhas, one of the standout performers for his side in the event, blazed to 172 off 113 deliveries as he carried the aspirations of his side, which lost the group match to the arch-foes by 90 runs at the same venue.
Pakistan, coming into the final on the back of a clinical eight-wicket semifinal win against last edition champions Bangladesh, did not let India, who chose to bowl, settle down.
Minhas, the younger brother of Pakistan T20 player Arafat Minhas, who had played a pivotal role with an unbeaten half-century in the semifinal on Friday, went after every bowler but was especially harsh on new-ball bowlers Kishan Singh and Deepesh Devendran.
Minhas, whose innings was studded with 17 boundaries and nine sixes, brought up his century off 71 balls with a four in the 29th over off Devendran.
This was Minhas' second hundred in the competition having cracked an unbeaten 177 against Malaysia in the opening group match.
The 19-year-old looked set for a double century and join the likes of India's Abhigyan Kundu and South Africa's Jorich Van Schalkwyk in the elite 200-plus club.
But he was tricked by a slower delivery from Devendran (3/83) to be caught at mid-on, as the India pacer savoured his first wicket in the match after being plundered by the prolific opener.
Minhas' big six in the 28th over, where he used his feet to launch an Ayush Mhatre delivery high up in the air to deep mid-wicket, had class written all over.
It was smooth sailing for Pakistan after Hamza Zahoor (18) departed early when he ended up giving the simplest of catches at mid-off, falling prey to a teasing off-stump line.
Zahoor's dismissal brought in Usman Khan (35) and, together with Minhas, took the total to 123 -- a partnership that yielded 92 runs.
Left-handed Ahmed Hussain, who too has enjoyed a rich vein of form in the tournament scoring a century and half-ton, struck a fine 56 before left-arm spinner Khilan Patel (2/44) enticed the middle-order batter to play the sweep and gave a catch at mid-wicket.
His 137-run partnership with Minhas provided the deck for Pakistan to go for a big total.
India have won the title a record eight times since the tournament's inception in 1989. They were joint winners with Pakistan in the 2012 edition when the match ended in a tie.
Pakistan have lifted the trophy only once, when they were joint winners with the arch-rivals in Malaysia.
SCOREBOARD
Pakistan Under-19s:
Hamza Zahoor c Mhatre b Henil Patel 18
Sameer Minhas c Chouhan b Deepesh 172
Usman Khan c Singh b Khilan Patel 35
Ahmed Hussain c Mhatre b Khilan Patel 56
Farhan Yousaf b Deepesh 19
Huzaifa Ahsan c Malhotra b Chouhan 0
Mohammad Shayan c Kundu b Henil Patel 7
Abdul Subhan c Henil Patel b Deepesh 2
Niqab Shafiq not out 12
Mohammad Sayyam not out 13
Extras: (LB-1, W-12) 13
Total: (For 8 wkts, 50 overs) 347
Fall of wkts: 1-31, 2-123, 3-260, 4-302, 5-307, 6-319, 7-319, 8-327.
Bowling: Kishan Singh 5-0-50-0, Henil Patel 10-0-62-2, Deepesh Devendran 10-0-83-3, Kanishk Chouhan 10-0-72-1, Khilan Patel 10-0-44-2, Ayush Mhatre 5-0-35-0.
India Under-19s:
Vaibhav Suryavanshi c Hamza Zahoor b Ali Raza 26
Ayush Mhatre c Farhan Yousaf b Ali Raza 2
Aaron George c Mohammad Shayan b Mohammad Sayyam 16
Vihaan Malhotra b Abdul Subhan 7
Vedant Trivedi c Niqab Shafiq b Mohammad Sayyam 9
Abhigyan Kundu c Niqab Shafiq b Abdul Subhan 13
Kanishk Chouhan c Farhan Yousaf b Ali Raza 9
Khilan Patel c Mohammad Sayyam b Huzaifa Ahsan 19
Henil Patel c Usman Khan b Huzaifa Ahsan 6
Deepesh Devendran c Ahmed Hussain b Ali Raza 36
Kishan Singh not out 3
Extras: (B-1, LB-2, NB-2, W-5) 10
Total: (All out, 26.2 overs) 156
Fall of wkts: 1-32, 2-49, 3-49, 4-59, 5-68, 6-82, 7-94, 8-115, 9-120, 10-156.
Bowling: Ali Raza 6.2-0-42-4, Mohammad Sayyam 5-1-38-2, Abdul Subhan 8-1-29-2, Niqab Shafiq 5-1-32-0, Huzaifa Ahsan 2-0-12-5.
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