Dubai, Dec 20 (IANS) Former Pakistan captain and Under-19 team mentor Sarfaraz Ahmed wants his charges to beat India in the final of the Junior Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday, an encore of the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Pakistan lost the Group match against India in Birmingham by 124 runs but in a brilliant show won the Champions Trophy final by 180 runs at The Oval.
Here too, Pakistan Under-19 lost the Group match by a big 90 runs and now faces another opportunity to win the title, first time in an outright manner.
India leads the trophy race of the U-19 Asia Cup by winning the title on eight occasions since the tournament was started in 1989 while Pakistan’s only win in 2012 was joint with India.
Sarfaraz said it would be great if Pakistan Juniors forget the first match defeat. “If it goes like the Champions trophy 2017 then it would be great,” Sarfaraz told Telecomasia.net. “I have told the players about that event in 2017 so it is up to the players to make the occasion memorable,” Sarfaraz told www.telecomasia.net
Sarfaraz was Pakistan captain in the 2017 triumph. He also led Pakistan to their second and so far the last Under-19 World Cup title in 2006.
Sarfaraz feels Pakistan’s loss in the Group match was due to poor batting. “We got them bowled out for 240 which was a good total to chase but then batted very slowly so I have told the players to bat aggressively and do not fear anything.”
Pakistan beat India in the Group match by 43 runs with Shahzaib Khan hitting ten sixes in his 159.
In the ongoing eight-team event, Pakistan won two of their three games in Group ‘A’ and advanced to the final after defeating Bangladesh by eight wickets in the second semi-final on Friday, 19 December.
Pakistan will rely on their batting star Sameer Minhas, the team’s highest run-getter with 299 runs in four matches, including a century and a half-century. In the bowling department, right-arm pacer Abdul Subhan has been the most successful with 11 wickets from three matches, while left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Sayyam has claimed eight wickets so far.
“Subhan and Sameer are two good prospects for future. We need to win this final so that our morale in the World Cup goes higher,” said Sarfaraz of the mega event in Zimbabwe and Kenya starting from January 15.
Before the Junior World Cup, Pakistan will compete in a tri-series with Afghanistan and hosts Zimbabwe, to be played from 25 December to 6 January – which will serve as preparation for the ICC U19 World Cup.
–IANS
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