KUALA LUMPUR: Afghanistan junior cricketers created history in the final of the Asia Cup U-19 tournament on Sunday when they outclassed Pakistan by 185 runs here at the Kinrara Academy Oval.

The triumph summed up a great tournament for Afghanistan, who had won three out of their four league games and had defeated Nepal, who had earlier beaten India in the league stages, in the semi-final.

The result demonstrated a magnificent edition of the Asia Cup where the lesser powers of cricket in Asia stepped up to the plate.

Pakistan chose to field first in the final but Afghanistan notched up a 61-run stand between Rahman Gul and Ibrahim Zadran. However, Ikram Faizi, the wicket-keeper and leading run-getter in the tournament, stitched partnerships with the middle order and notched up a magnificent unbeaten century (107 not out) to boost Afghanistan to 248-7 off the stipulated 50 overs.

In response, Pakistan were blown away by the duo of Mujeeb Zadran and Qais Ahmed as they dismantled the Pakistan batting line-up. Mujeeb picked up five wickets for mere 13 runs while Qais Ahmed finished with impressive figures of 3-18 as Pakistan were dismissed for 63 in 22.1 overs to lose by a massive margin.

Mujeeb’s haul summed up the domination of the Afghanistan bowlers in the tournament, becoming the second bowler to take a five-wicket haul.

Earlier in the week, Mujeeb had taken 6-23 to bowl Pakistan out for 57.

Speaking after the final, Ikram, who was named man-of-the-match, said, “It was a tough wicket to bat initially but my captain told me to spend time in the middle and later on, it was easy for me to bat on.”

Mujeeb, who was the leading wicket-taker in the series and was named the player of the tournament, added that he had bowled with spirit which was the main reason for his hauls against Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2017