Samson and Zol help India lift Asia Cup U-19 trophy

Vijay Zol

In an exciting Under-19 Asia Cup final played today at Sharjah, the vibrant Indian under-19 team beat Pakistan by 40 runs. Pakistan won the toss and chose to field, but the strong Indian batting line-up piled up a good score of 314 runs in their 50 overs. Opener AK Bains gave a good start by scoring 47 runs. After he was dismissed, India was in a tricky position at 85/2. But then Vijay Zol and Sanju Samson took over. They comfortably negotiated the Pakistani bowlers and both managed to score centuries. Both of them played in a very responsible manner, ensuring that no further wickets were lost. They put on 180 runs together.

At one stage it looked like India would post a huge score in excess of 350. However, the Pakistani bowlers managed to pull things back. Zol got cautious when he was about to reach his century. This slowed the run rate somewhat. Zol was dismissed for exactly 100. Soon after, Samson completed his century off just 86 balls. It was a remarkable innings, considering the situation India was in. It is especially tricky to play in finals due to the extra pressure. But he managed to play well.

However, he was dismissed soon after, also for exactly 100. After his wicket, the Indian lower order could not add many runs, and wickets kept falling. The run out of the talented Sarfaraz Khan also hampered India’s innings. Ultimately, the score of 314-8 was good, but India could have been targeting much more.

Pakistan started well and put on 35 runs very quickly. But then India got the breakthrough from Chama Milind. The Pakistan middle order collapsed. The Indian attack was led by Kuldeep Yadav who took 3-72. He was very expensive, but at least he got the breakthroughs. Only Sami Aslam (87) and Kamran  Ghulam (102) managed to put up a fight.

Chama Milind and Deepak Hooda took 2 wickets each, and ensured that there was no fightback from the Pakistani batsmen. Towards the end it looked like Kamran Ghulam was waging a lone battle. He did not get much support from the other end. Still, he managed to complete his century in the last over of the innings.

This young Indian team has once again proved that there is no dearth of talent in this country and the future seems bright.

Pakistan tried but the score was too much to chase down and they fell short. Hence, India took revenge for the defeat suffered at the hands of Pakistan in the league stages. Well done boys!