Al Amerat (Oman): Late-order batters Mohit Ulva and Manal Chauhan held their nerve under pressure as India pulled off a thrilling one-wicket victory over Pakistan off the final ball to reclaim the Under-19 Asia Cup title here on Saturday.
Chasing a daunting target of 338, India were in deep trouble at 252 for eight in the 42nd over. However, Manal (47 off 32 balls) and Mohit (49 not out off 26 balls) emerged as unlikely heroes to guide the team to victory.
India finished at 339 for nine, with Mohit fittingly sealing the match by smashing a boundary off the final ball bowled by leg-spinner Ahmed Hussain.
When the two batters came together, defending champions Pakistan appeared to have one hand on the trophy. But the Indian duo handled the pressure admirably, adding 57 runs for the ninth wicket.
Manal, who did most of the running during the partnership, was dismissed with India's score at 302, leaving the team needing another 36 runs with just one wicket in hand.
Mohit then found another determined ally in No. 11 batter C Venkata (11 not out off 8 balls). India needed eight runs from the final over, and the equation eventually came down to three runs off the last ball.
Mohit smashed Hussain's delivery wide of long-off for a boundary to complete an extraordinary victory.
Earlier, skipper Lakshya Raichandani (80) and Aaryavir Sehwag (58) had kept India's chase on track with a 95-run opening partnership.
However, Sehwag's dismissal, followed by the quick wickets of Raichandani and Anvay Dravid, pushed India into a difficult position before the late-order rescue act.
Earlier, opener Usman Khan's composed 107 helped Pakistan post a formidable 337 for nine.
Usman shared a brisk 62-run opening stand with Hayam Khan in just 8.1 overs.
He then combined with one-down batter Abdul Qadir (80) to add 135 runs in 18 overs, giving Pakistan's innings significant momentum.
Qadir was the aggressor in the partnership, scoring 80 off just 54 balls and bringing up his maiden Youth ODI half-century in 39 deliveries. He also hit left-arm spinner Manal and off-spinner Yashbardhdan Chauhan for consecutive sixes.
His aggressive innings ended when an uppish drive off Arjun Rajput was caught by VK Vineeth at cover.
Usman followed soon after, mistiming a slash off pacer Kavya Patel (4/68) that was caught by Rajput at mid-off.
At 240 for three after 36 overs, Pakistan were well placed to push their total higher.
Captain Farhan Yousaf added to India's challenge with a 63-ball 60, taking Pakistan past the 300-run mark.
Pacers Kavya and Venkata (3/40) picked up wickets towards the end, but Pakistan had already set India a challenging target.
(With PTI inputs)