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Azan Awais of Pakistan celebrates after reaching his century during the ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup Group A match against India at the ICC Academy Ground on Sunday Image Credit: ACC

Dubai: Azan Awais’s unbeaten ton and Mohammad Zeeshan’s four-wicket haul gave Pakistan a huge 8-wicket win over India in the fifth match of the Asian Cricket Council Under-19s Asia Cup on Sunday.

Azan’s breathtaking display with the bat made the Indian bowling unit look out of their depth during the chase of 260 as he scored 105 not out.

Apart from Murugan Abhishek’s two wickets, the rest of the bowlers toiled hard but ended the day without a single wicket in their kitty. After producing a clinical display with the ball and restricting India to a score of 259/9 in 50 overs, the Men in Green got off to a start which bore resemblance to the performance of India in the first innings.

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Pakistan team celebrate an Indian wicket during the ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup match in Dubai. Image Credit: ACC

Fine partnership

The Men in Blue accumulated 42 runs for a loss of one wicket in the powerplay. On the other hand, Pakistan also lost a wicket but registered 48 runs on the board.

The 110-run stand between Azan and Shahzaib Khan completely took away the game from India. The left-hand combination took the fight to the bowlers, kept the fielders on their toes and picked up boundaries according to the demands of the chase.

Abhishek scalped his second of the night by dismissing Shahzaib for 63 came in a bit too late. The bowlers pressed for a collapse but Azan’s presence kept a composed and calm atmosphere in the dugout as well as on the field.

Azan stitched up a match-winning 128-run unbeaten partnership with skipper Saad Baig to take Pakistan across the finishing line.

Fierce bowling set-up

Earlier in the innings, after India were put to bat first, skipper Uday Saharan (60), opener Adarsh Singh (62) and Sachin Dhas (58) fought valiantly against a fierce bowling set-up.

Their crucial knocks propelled India to a score of 259/9. Mohammad Zeeshan’s four-fer and Amir Hassan and Ubaid Shah scalped two each to restrict India from reaching a total past 300.

Brief scores: Pakistan U19 beat India U19 by 8 wickets. India 259-9 in 50 overs (Adarsh Singh 62, Arshin Kulkarni 24, Uday Saharan 60, Sachin Dhas 58; Mohammad Zeeshan 4/46, Amir Hassan 2/56, Ubaid Shah 2/49). Pakistan: 263-2 in 47 overs (Shahzaib Khan 63, Azan Awais 105 not out, Saad Baig 68 not out).