The protagonist of the victory was Mumbai boy Sarfaraz Khan, who is fast turning out to be the 'trouble-shooter' of this team, while batting at No 6. At 16, the youngest member of the side, Sarfaraz walked in with India in trouble at 94 for four and scored 74 (101b, 5x4, 1x6), took four catches and grabbed a wicket too. Sarfaraz added 119 for the fifth wicket with Sanju Samson, who made 68 (101b, 2x4, 1x6) at a critical juncture.
The duo ensured that India posted a competitive 262 for seven. Pakistan enjoyed a 109-run opening start through Sami Aslam (64, 85b, 6x4), and Imam-ul-Haq (39), but suffered a bad collapse, as the entire team folded up after adding merely 113 runs more. Baroda seamer Deepak
Hooda was the wrecker-in-chief, finishing with five for 41.
Earlier, India enjoyed a fabulous start for the first wicket, as Ankush Bains (24, 23b, 3x4, 1x6) and Mumbai's Akhil Herwadkar (41, 46b, 6x4) added 65 in just 49 balls. However, they then lost four wickets for 19 runs to slip into trouble, before Sarfaraz and Sanju bailed them out. "It was Sarfaraz's day. He brings a lot of energy into the team. You just can't keep him quiet. He fired just when the team needed him to. He has the knack to excel under pressure," India's U-19 coach Bharat Arun told TOI from Dubai on Saturday. Safraraz had produced a similar, in fact a more dominating knock in a similar situation a few months earlier. During the Qaudrangular tournament in Vizag in September, India had slipped to 93 for four chasing 271 against the Proteas, before the young turk blasted them to victory with a 66-ball 101. "His 'awareness level' is high. He knows what he is capable of. And he has shots all around the wicket. He is a busy player," praised Arun.
On Saturday, Sarfaraz started slowly, before unleashing his attacking, natural game by using the sweep to good effect. "I trained him for this event at the Azad Maidan (in Mumbai), where our club (John Bright CC) is located. PV Shetty (MCA secretary) has provided us the facility free of cost and that has really helped. I made him play against the red, swinging cherry in the morning, and then with the white Kookaburra in the afternoon by simulating match conditions," said Naushad Khan, Sarfaraz's father and coach.
Arun termed Hooda's effort as 'outstanding,' but felt it was offie Aamir Gani's economical spell (1-38 off 10 overs) at a 'difficult time' that did the trick for India. "We played with controlled aggression. This win has given us the momentum," summed up Arun.
Brief Scores: India 262-7 (Sarfaraz Khan 74, Sanju Samson 68; Akhil Herwadkar 41) beat Pakistan 222 in 48.4 overs (Sami Aslam 64; Deepak Hooda 5-41).
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