Sameer Minhas’ record century sets the tone for Pakistan
The final over belonged to opener Sameer Minhas, who produced a sensational 172 off 113 balls, peppered with 17 fours and 9 sixes. It was Minhas’ second century of the tournament and one of the highest individual scores in the history of the U19 Asia Cup.
After a cautious opening period, Minhas shifted decisively and dismantled India’s bowling – especially the spinners – with clean strokes and smart placement. His innings provided the basis for a total that quickly went beyond India’s reach.
Minhas found valuable support from Ahmed Hussain and skipper Farhan Yousaf as Pakistan’s top order steadily increased the pace during the middle overs and finished strongly at the death.
Pakistan’s batting approach measured early on before it became ruthless. Once they settled down, the batters turned aggressively towards match-ups, never allowing India to regain control. The ability to rotate the attack and then launch boundaries at will kept the scoreboard racing, leaving India with a tough chase from the start.
India crumbles in steep pursuit
In the hunt for 348, India never found momentum. Early wickets in the powerplay exposed the middle order, and any hopes of recovery were dashed by regular breakthroughs. Despite brief resistance, none of the Indian batters converted their starts into substantial scores against Pakistan’s disciplined pace-and-spin combination.
The contrast with the group stage was great. India, led by Ayush Mhatre, had earlier defeated Pakistan by 90 runs but the final told a different story as Pakistan’s bowlers exploited the pressure and conditions to perfection.
Pakistan’s bowlers supported the batters with accuracy and intensity, pressuring India for runs and forcing errors. The fielding effort complemented the bowling, converting half-chances into wickets and hastening India’s collapse to 156 all out.
Congratulations to Pakistan U19 for a memorable victory in the Asia Cup. Thanks to the coaches, selectors and the entire squad for building a unit that has achieved results on the big stage 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/s7jt0SSRNO
— Fawad Alam (@iamfawadalam25) December 21, 2025
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The result gave Pakistan their first outright U19 Asia Cup title since 2012, sparking celebrations among the team’s fans and support staff, including head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed. Minhas was named Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, finishing as the competition’s leading run-scorer and delivering the decisive innings of the final.
Sameer Minhas, remember the name 🙌
– 172 off 113 balls against India in the final of the U19 Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai 🔥#SameerMinhas #PakistanCricket #U19AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/IIgNOQCAw7
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) December 21, 2025
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