Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam and tournament top-scorer Sami Aslam walked out to bat and would have had a score of n
ear 300 in mind in order to provide their bowlers with something to defend against a strong Indian side. Aslam scored his second centu
ry of the tournament to carry his side to a decent score of 282 with the help of a timely 48 from Umar Waheed.
India came out to bat with a win in mind, and dominated the vast majority of the game, led by captain Chand who also scored a century with the support of Baba Aparajith who ended with 90 runs to his name. India were in a very easy position at the 44th Over, needing just 37 runs to win with 7 wickets in hand. However, India’s victory was not to be, and two inspired overs from spinner Mohammad Nawaz put Pakistan back into contention, claiming 3 key wickets including that of Aparajith. India’s middle order didn’t rise to the occasion and buckled under the pressure leaving India needing 7 off the last over. Ehsan Adil bowled the over and finally got rid of the Indian Captain and when No. 8 Kalaria walked in, he could only manage to level the score with a 4 before getting out on the last ball.
Pakistan were able to pluck a tie from the jaws of defeat, whereas India let an easy title victory slip away. There was no decider, and the ACC announced that the trophy would be shared between the two countries. The crowd of around 2000 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were treated to a very exciting match that will be remembered…
Opener, Sami Aslam bagged the MOM award alongside Indian Captain Chand. Sami also received the Player of the Tournament Award and the Best Batsman Award for his 461 runs in the tournament, with Sri Lankan spinner T Kaushal picking the Best Bowler award for his 12 wickets in only 4 matches.
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