Hamza Zahoor broke Indian hearts with a counter-attacking unbeaten 100 off 108 balls, dragging Pakistan out of a 61/5 tailspin to pull off a three-wicket victory in Oman on Sunday. India had their rivals pinned to the mat. Then the grip slipped. Chasing 209 in their ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup Group A encounter, Pakistan crossed the line with 11 balls to spare, leaving India captain Lakshya Raichandani ruing a costly batting collapse that left his bowlers defenseless.
Won tosses demand ruthless starts. Instead, India walked straight into trouble. After electing to bat, the top order disintegrated to 42/4 inside the opening powerplay before Arjun Rajput took charge of the salvage operation. Rajput held the innings together with a fighting 107, dispatching loose deliveries and finding steady support from Kavya Patel. Yet the tail failed to wag behind him. India folded for 208 in 46.3 overs—well below par on a surface offering late value to set batters.
Lakshya Raichandani's seamers initially responded with fire. Pakistan were ripped apart in the opening 15 overs, reeling at 61/5 as the Indian pace attack dictated terms. Then Zahoor planted his front foot forward. Anchoring the chase with clinical poise, Zahoor found an able partner in Hasnain Abbas Dar, who compiled a crucial 38. The pair dismantled the field, picked off boundary balls at will, and turned an imminent defeat into Pakistan's second consecutive group-stage victory.
Raichandani offered no excuses at the post-match presentation. He admitted the batting unit left Rajput stranded without enough cushion to defend against a deep Pakistani batting order.
"Yeah, they weren't enough. We were 20-30 runs short, but overall there were some good innings from Arjun and a good contribution from KP," Raichandani said. "It was a really good innings, and if someone had stayed there with him, it could have been a little bit more total."
Raichandani also acknowledged that his bowlers let Pakistan off the hook after orchestrating the early breakthrough. "They were 60 for 5. We could have bowled a little bit better, but overall, it was really good. We will try to rectify it, and there was a lot of positive from this game," the skipper added as India turn their focus toward must-win territory in their remaining group matches.