Pakistan beat India by XX wickets in the ongoing ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2026 in Group A on Sunday in Al Amerat. Chasing a miserly 209 runs, Pakistan were in a bit of a pickle before wicketkeeper Hamza Zaroor came to bat at number eight and scored 96 runs from 107 balls to bring the Men in Green back into the contest.
Earlier, Middle-order batter Arjun Rajput hit a counter-attacking century before Pakistan’s bowlers produced a clinical performance to dismiss India for a below-par 208.
India made a disastrous start to their innings after electing to bat, losing four top-order batters with just 42 runs on the board.
Skipper Lakshya Raichandani, Aryaveer Sehwag (22), VK Vineeth and Yashbardhan Chauhan all departed in quick succession before Rajput took it upon himself to stabilise the innings and push India forward with a counter-attacking 107 off 85 balls, studded with 11 boundaries and five sixes.
Rajput first shared a 44-run partnership with wicketkeeper Anvay Dravid (10), son of Rahul Dravid, and then stitched together 64 runs with Manal Chauhan (11).
In both partnerships, Rajput did the bulk of the scoring with his attacking batting, keeping India in the hunt and helping the team cross the 200-run mark.
Once Rajput departed in the 36th over, with India at 170 for seven, the side lost two more quick wickets in Yashveer Goud and Mohit Ulva to be reduced to 195 for nine.
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Towards the end, Kavya Prasad Patel (23) and last man Ishan Sood (2 not out) shared a small but vital partnership to take India to 208 in 46.3 overs.
For Pakistan, right-arm medium pacers Ali Raza (3/37) and Rizwanullah (3/24) did the early damage before slow left-arm orthodox spinner Niqab Shafiq (3/42) joined the attack to further derail India’s innings.
Left-arm medium pacer Mohammad Sayam (1/27) also got his name on the scoresheet, claiming the final Indian wicket.
