Dubai: Aaron George’s valiant half-century and a combined bowling effort helped India thrash arch-rivals Pakistan by 90 runs in the fifth match of the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup 2025 at the ICC Academy on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 241 runs, Pakistan’s batting line-up stumbled against India’s controlled bowling attack and were bowled out for 150 runs in 41.2 overs.
Middle-order batsman Hussaifah Ahsan stood out for the Green Shirts with a half-century and his top score of 70 off 83 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes.
Pakistan began to bat cautiously as they reached 21/0 in eight overs as Deepesh Devendran dismantled their top-order, dismissing Samir Minhas (nine), Ali Hasan Baloch (nil) and Ahmed Hussain (four).
Opener Usman Khan, who held one end firmly during Devendran’s fiery spell, was eventually sent back by Kanishk Chauhan in the 14th over as Pakistan slumped to 30/4.
He put on 47 runs with skipper Farhan Yousuf (23) for the fifth wicket. Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s dismissal in the 24th over gave India the breakthrough they needed.
Following Yusuf’s dismissal, Ahsan forged one-sided partnerships with Hamza Zahoor (four), Abdul Subhan (six) and Mohammad Syam (two) before eventually succumbing to Chauhan in the 39th over.
Kishan Singh delivered the final blow to Pakistan’s quest by dismissing Ali Raza (sixer) and propelled India to a massive victory.
For India, Devendran and Chauhan took 3 wickets each, Kishan took 2 wickets, Kilan Patel and Suryavanshi took one wicket each.
Pakistan captain Farhan Yousuf’s decision to field first paid off as India posted 433/6 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a match reduced to 49 overs apiece due to rain, managing only 240 in 46.1 overs.
With 29 in the fourth over, Syam caught and bowled their last man of the match, Vaibhav Suryavanshi (five), to give the Men in Blue a shock start to their innings.
However, Suryavanshi’s dismissal did not trouble India as a 49-run partnership between captain Ayush Madre and Aaron George kept them on top.
Syam broke the quickfire partnership in the 10th over as he dismissed the Indian captain with a short-pitched delivery. Madre was the notable run scorer with a brisk 38 off 25 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Following his dismissal, India lost two more wickets at regular intervals as Niqab Shafiq dismissed Vihan Malhotra (12) and Vedant Trivedi (seven) cheaply to reduce the total to 113/4 in 19.5 overs.
Holding one end firmly, George put up a crucial 60-run fifth-wicket partnership with wicketkeeper batsman Abhiyan Kundu before both fell victim to Abdul Subhan in the 32nd over.
George remained India’s top scorer with 85 off 88 balls with 12 fours and a six, while Kundu scored 22 off 32 balls.
Kanishk Chauhan then took control of India’s batting campaign and scored 46 runs off one ball until Ahmed Hussain’s sacrifice in the 45th over.
His dismissal made India’s batting tail, leveled effortlessly by Ali Raza and Subhan.
For Pakistan, Syam and Subhan took three wickets each, Niqab took two wickets and Ali and Ahmed took one wicket each.