Anwar scripts amazing turnaround

With the Pakistani Under 19 side all returned to the pavilion, their innings well short of its fifty allotted overs and the scoreboard reading merely 109, the game seemed a foregone conclusion. Twenty balls and six wickets later, it was.

Pakistan’s opening partnership or Nasir Jamshed and Ali Khan started brightly, and with Gaurav Dhiman’s opening over wayward, Indian skipper Ravikant Shukla turned to the brisk left-arm wrist spin of Ravindra Jadeja in the fifth over. It took him just four balls to strike, as Nasir found Abu Ahmed at backward point. Two balls later, Mohammad Ibrahim missed a full, straight delivery and the pattern for the day had been firmly set.

Ali Khan perished at the close of the first ten overs of fielding restrictions, nicking Vijaykumar Yomahesh to Pinal Shah behind the stumps and four overs later, the introduction of legspinner Piyush Chawla had triggered two further wickets. Semi-final heroes Ali Asad and Riaz Kail fell within two balls of each other, Asad missing a sweep and Riaz leaving an inch-perfect googly. At 49 for five, Pakistan were struggling to pass three figures.

However, Rameez Raja found a determined pair of allies in wicketkeeper-captain Sarfraz Ahmed and swing bowler Anwar Ali, and the Pakistanis slowly worked the scoreboard upwards. Sarfraz was stumped off Parmar Bipinbhai’s doosra – a delivery that seems certain to earn the offspinner a date with the ICC’s Bowling Review Group – whilst Rameez survived for almost two hours until missing a sweep and being trapped LBW by Rohit Sharma.

Anwar was able to coax his side beyond 100 before thumping Jadeja to Cheteshwar Pujara at cover, whilst Chawla cleaned up the tail to finish with a sensational analysis that read 8.1-3-8-4 – an Under 19 World Cup Final record. The target was 110, and the chase was on.

Gaurav Dhiman under-edged the first ball of the Indian reply, from left armer Jamshaid Ahmed back onto his stumps, before Anwar stole the show. Swinging the ball prodigiously and finding almost a metre’s worth of inward movement to the right-handers of the top order, Pujara, Sharma and Mayank Tehlan had no chance. Shukla followed six balls later, the left hander’s off stump disturbed by a delivery from Jamshaid that held its line. Debrata Das lasted just two deliveries, deflecting an inswinger back to the bowler after the ball had struck his front pad. India were six down for only nine runs.

Six became seven soon after the lunch break, Jadeja was caught by Nasir at slip to give Anwar his five-for, having earlier been dropped by the same fielder. The Indian eighth wicket stand was the largest of the match, as Chawla and keeper Shah added 39 to restore the battered hopes of their dressing room. With the score at 62, however, change bowler Akhtar Ayub found the edge of Shah’s bat and then Sarfraz’s gloves. Neither Yomahesh nor Bipinbhai were able to support Chawla, whose 25 equalled Rameez’s effort as the highest match score, India were all out for 71, and Pakistan had become the first country to defend the U19 World title.

A full tournament review will follow soon on Cricket Web.

Pakistan 109
Rameez Raja 25, Nasir Jamshed 18
Piyush Chawla 4-8, Ravindra Jadeja 3-16

India 71
Piyush Chawla 25*, Pinal Shah 16
Anwar Ali 5-35, Akhtar Ayub 3-9

Pakistan won by 38 runs

Cricket Web Player of the Match
Anwar Ali – 17 and 5-35