ACC U-19 Asia Cup: India go top of Group A with 90-run victory over Pakistan

by Devesh Jaganath

image ACC U-19 Asia Cup: India go top of Group A with 90-run victory over Pakistan
The Indian U-19 cricket team took a massive step toward reaching the knockout stage of the 2025 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup on Sunday by defeating rivals Pakistan by 90 runs at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. The Men in Blue now lead Group A with four points heading into their final group-stage match later today.

Aaron Varghese and Kanishk Chouhan shine against Shaheens in Dubai

The Indian U-19 cricket team moved to the top of Group A at the 2025 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup on Sunday, when they confirmed our cricket predictions by securing a commanding 90-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai. 

After a rain delay that caused the match to be reduced to 49 overs, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first. Notably, both teams opted to forego the customary pre-match handshakes, similar to what we’ve seen at the senior Asia Cup and the Women’s World Cup in the past few months. 

The Shaheens got off to a good start, knocking over arguably the best youth batsman in world cricket right now, Vaibhav Suryavanshi for just five runs in the fourth over, but Ayush Mhatre and Aaron Varghese steadied the ship with a 49-run partnership before the skipper fell in the 10th over. 

Varghese went on to top-score for the team (85 runs off 88 balls), while a late push of 46 runs in as many deliveries by Kanishk Chouhan got the Men in Blue to a defendable total of 240 before they were bowled out in the 47th over. 

In response, Pakistan were set on the back foot early, with Usman Khan, Sameer Minhas, Ali Hassan Baloch and Ahmed Hussain dismissed for a collective total of 29 runs, while only two Pakistani batters managed to score in double digits. 

Hazaifa Ahsan did his best to lead the Shaheens' fightback, scoring 70 runs off 83 deliveries, but Chouhan sent him back to the pavilion in the 39th over, and the tail-end lasted just two more overs before the match was brought to an end by Kishan Kumar Singh. 

India in control of the standings ahead of final group-stage match

With that victory, India moved to the top of Group A with two wins in two games and an exceptional net run rate of 3.273, which all but guarantees them a place in the knockout stages barring a shocking turn of events. 

The Men in Blue will look to keep their perfect record at the tournament intact later today when they face basement team Malaysia, who have yet to record a point in the competition, in their final group-stage match at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai. 

PosTeamPldWLTPtsNRR
1India220043.273
2Pakistan211022.091
3United Arab Emirates21102−1.608
4Malaysia20200−3.866