Pakistan The 13-year wait for the U19 Asia Cup 2025 title ended in style. India Lost by 191 runs in a one-sided final at the ICC Academy on Sunday, 21 December. The win gave Pakistan only their second U19 Asia Cup crown and their first outright win since 2012, when they shared the trophy with India.
Sameer Minhas’ record breaking century sets the tone for Pakistan
The final opener was named Sameer Minhas, who played a sensational inning of 172 runs in 113 balls with the help of 17 fours and 9 sixes. It was Minhas’ second century of the tournament and one of the highest individual scores in U19 Asia Cup history.
After a cautious initial phase, Minhas changed gears decisively, dismantling India’s bowling – especially the spinners – with clean hitting and smart placement. His innings laid the foundation for a total which quickly went beyond India’s reach.
Minhas received valuable support from Ahmed Hussain and captain Farhan Yousuf as Pakistan’s top order steadily pushed the pace in the middle overs and performed strongly in the death overs.
Pakistan’s batting approach was measured before it became brutal. Once settled, the batsmen targeted the match-up aggressively, ensuring that India could never regain control. The ability to rotate the strike and then hit boundaries at will kept the scoreboard running, leaving India facing a tough target right from the start.
India collapses while chasing a tough target
Chasing 348 runs, India could never find any rhythm. Early wickets inside the powerplay exposed the middle order, and any hopes of improvement from routine breakthroughs were dashed. Despite brief resistance, none of India’s batsmen converted the starts into big scores against Pakistan’s disciplined pace-and-spin combination.
The contrast with the group stage was stark. India, led by Ayush Mhatre, had earlier defeated Pakistan by 90 runs, but the final told a different story as Pakistan’s bowlers made the most of the pressure and conditions.
Pakistan’s bowlers supported the batsmen with accuracy and intensity, restricting India to runs and forcing mistakes. The fielding effort complemented the bowling, converting half the chances into wickets and leaving India all out for 156.
Congratulations to Pakistan U19 on their memorable win in the Asia Cup. The credit goes to the coaches, selectors and the entire team for building a unit that performs well on the big stage. pic.twitter.com/s7jt0SSRNO
– Fawad Alam (@iamfaadalam25) 21 December 2025
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The result gave Pakistan its first U19 Asia Cup title since 2012, leading to celebrations among the fans and the team’s 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 playing the deciding innings of the final.
Sameer Minhas, remember the name 🙌
– 172 runs on 113 balls against India in the final of U19 Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai 🔥#sameerminhas #PakistanCricket #U19AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/IIgNOQCAw7
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 21 December 2025
