Sameer Minhas' brilliant innings of 172 runs helped Pakistan defeat India and win the Asia Cup Under-19 title.

 Sameer Minhas' brilliant innings of 172 runs helped Pakistan defeat India and win the Asia Cup Under-19 title.

When it comes to the match between Pakistan and Indian cricket teams, most Pakistanis feel a little nervous about what will happen today, but things looked different on Sunday.

In the final of the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai, Pakistan defeated India by 191 runs after a very impressive performance.

India won the toss and decided to field in this final match, and this decision proved to be better for Pakistan as it gave India a huge target of 348 runs to win by batting first.

Pakistan scored 347 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the stipulated 50 overs.

Pakistan's opener Sameer Minhas showed a very brilliant batting performance and played an innings of 172 runs off 113 balls with the help of 17 fours and nine sixes.

Sameer Minhas scored his century off just 71 balls.

It should be noted that Pakistani opener Sameer Minhas has also been the top scorer of this tournament.

Who is Sameer Minhas, who loves to play long innings?

Pakistan defeated India to win the Under-19 Asia Cup, but the youngster behind Pakistan's mountain-like score in that match is very fond of playing long innings.

This is not the first time that Sameer Minhas has given the team a good start by playing a big innings. In the second match of the same event and Pakistan's first match, he played an unbeaten innings of 177 runs against Malaysia.

He hit 11 fours and eight sixes in the innings against Malaysia.

Samir Minhas, who played two big innings at the age of just 19 years and 19 days, was born on December 2, 2006 in Multan. The right-handed opening batsman belongs to a family that already has another international cricketer.

He is the younger brother of Arafat Minhas, who has represented Pakistan in four T20 Internationals, representing the Green Shirts against Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in 2023 and 2024.

Sameer Minhas is one of the young players who have emerged from the Pakistan Cricket Board’s pathway system. Before representing Pakistan Under-19, he has represented Multan Region Under-13, Southern Punjab Under-16, Multan Under-19 and Multan Region Under-19.

Former captain Azhar Ali, who served as the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s youth development program until last month, described Sameer Minhas as a good option for the future.

Speaking to journalist Umair Alvi, he said that the young cricketer impressed him when he first saw Sameer Minhas at a training camp in Karachi this year.

‘His technique of standing at the crease was very good and shot selection too, if he works hard on it, he can prove to be a good player for Pakistan in the future.’

According to Azhar Ali, the success of Sameer Minhas is due to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s pathway system through which he has emerged. He has been giving good performances at every age group level, due to which he was included in the training camp organized before the World Cup and Asia Cup.

‘Sameer Minhas worked hard in the training camp four months ago, the result of which is in front of everyone today. He is not only a good top-order batsman but also an excellent fielder who can represent Pakistan in the future.

Azhar Ali said that "Sameer, who scored two centuries in the Asia Cup, was also the top scorer in the domestic U-19 event, where he impressed the selectors with his form by scoring two centuries."

According to him, Sameer Minhas's century against Malaysia U-19 cannot be forgotten, while his aggressive and responsible batting in the knockout stage against India is a testament to his talent.

Samir Minhas's comments on social media

Sahibzada Farhan, the opener of the Pakistan national cricket team and known for his aggressive play, shared a picture of Sameer Minhas batting against India in the final match on X and wrote with it, ‘What a great player is Sameer Minhas.’

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Rashid Latif wrote on X, ‘Samer Minhas was very consistent in the Asia Cup Under-19 tournament, scoring 471 runs in this event. What a great performance.’

An X user named Khan praised Sameer Minhas, writing, ‘Samer’s great performance in the final with India, what a great young player.’

Another X user Shakir Abbasi wrote on Sameer Minhas’ great performance in the final of the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Asia Cup against India, ‘Watch carefully... Sameer Minhas’ class. What a player. What a great innings. 172 in the final and that too against India is something that cannot be described in words.’

A user named Haroon expressed his feelings by saying, ‘Sameer Minhas is a real batsman. He knows how to understand and use the situation in the best way. He has a strong defensive ability. He can hit big shots. Hopefully he will stay focused on his performance.’