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In the Group A match of the ACC U-19 Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan defeated their arch-rivals India by a comprehensive margin of eight wickets at the ICC Academy in Dubai. Azan Awais was the chief contributor in the big win for the Men in Green, scoring an unbeaten hundred to help his team chase down a 260-run target.
After winning the toss, the Pakistan U-19 captain Saad Baig decided to put the U-19 Indian cricket team into batting first. The openers Adarsh Singh and Arshin Kulkarani provided a steady start for the Men in Blue in the powerplay before they lost two wickets in quick succession, getting reduced to 46-2 in the 12th over.
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It led to Adarsh Singh and the Indian U-19 captain Uday Saharan stitching together a vital 93-run partnership to put the Indian innings on track. But then, they lost three more wickets in quick succession before Sachin Dhas, at the No. 7 slot, scored a quick-fire 58 off 42 with two fours and three sixes to help his team reach a competitive score of 259-9 in their allotted 50 overs.
After Mohammad Zeesham produced a brilliant 10-over spell to pick up four wickets for 46 runs. In the second innings, the Pakistan opener, Shamyl Hussain, lost his wicket for just eight off 15 in the run chase. From that point onwards, Shahzaib Khan and Azan Awais shared a quality partnership of 110 runs to put their team firmly on the front foot in their pursuit of 260 runs.
Shahzaib Khan scored 63 off 88 with four fours and three sixes before Murugan Abhishek picked up his second wicket of the day for India. It led to the Pakistan U-19 captain Saad Baig (68 off 51) joining Azan Awais (105 off 130) in the middle, building an unbeaten stand of 125 runs to take their team over the finishing line.
