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U19 Asia Cup final: India meet Pakistan at Al Amerat, seeking a ninth title
India Under-19 face Pakistan Under-19 in the Asia Cup final at Al Amerat, Oman, on 14 November, starting 10:30 am IST. India seek a record ninth title; Pakistan beat them by three wickets in the group stage and by 191 runs in the 2025 final. India reached it by beating Afghanistan.
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India Under-19 meet Pakistan Under-19 in the final of the Men's U19 Asia Cup at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on Saturday, 14 November 2026. The Board of Control for Cricket in India lists the start at 5:00 am UTC, which is 10:30 am in India and 9 am local time. India are chasing a record ninth title, but they have lost both of their recent meetings with Pakistan: by three wickets in the group stage on 8 November, and by 191 runs in the final of the 2025 tournament. This preview was written before the toss and will be out of date once play starts; it is for information only.
How the teams got here
India lost to Pakistan in the group stage, when Pakistan chased 208 for a three-wicket win and Hamza Zahoor made an unbeaten century. India's Arjun Rajput had made 107 in that match. It was India's only defeat of the tournament, and they went on to reach the semi-finals and then the final. In the second semi-final on 12 November, they beat Afghanistan by eight wickets with 79 balls to spare. Afghanistan made 227 for 8 and India overtook the target of 228 for the loss of two wickets in 36.5 overs, with captain Lakshya Raichandani scoring 93 and VK Vineeth finishing on 57 not out.
The accounts available do not give the result of Pakistan's semi-final, only that they are the other finalist, so this preview does not describe it. Pakistan's group-stage win over India took them into the semi-finals, which they cleared to reach their second straight final.
| Stage | India | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Group meeting, 8 November | Lost by three wickets | Won, chasing 208 |
| Semi-final | Beat Afghanistan by eight wickets | Won; result not given in the accounts seen |
| Last final, 2025 | Lost by 191 runs | Won |
The record in finals
This is the fourth U19 Asia Cup final between the two sides. The 2012 final was tied and the title was shared. India won the 2013-14 final at Sharjah by 40 runs. Pakistan won the 2025 final in Dubai by 191 runs, with the opener Sameer Minhas making 172, the highest individual score in a final of the tournament, in Pakistan's 347 for 8, and India bowled out for 156. India are an eight-time champion and this is their 11th final.
What to watch
India's batting has been the stronger side of the semi-final. Raichandani and Aaryavir Sehwag put on 117 for the first wicket in under 17 overs against Afghanistan, and the middle order held. The bowling attack, led by Ishan Sood with three wickets and Aryan Savsani with two, got through a long Afghan innings but conceded 227, and Pakistan's batters have shown they can make big scores in this format.
The questions for India are how their top order deals with the new ball and the Pakistani pace bowlers in the morning, and whether they can bowl first or chase in what is a day game. The toss will matter, because the group match was decided in a chase and the 2025 final was lost after batting second.
For Pakistan, the group-stage win and Zahoor's hundred show that they can chase against this attack, and the memory of the 2025 final gives them confidence. The two teams' relations off the field have been tense, and in the 2025 final the players did not shake hands, as one report put it, but there is no information in the accounts available about arrangements for the match this year.
The BCCI's match page and the Asian Cricket Council's scorecard carry the squads, the toss and the result. A result would be the first full piece of news from the tournament's last day, and a victory would give India a record ninth title.
The two matches that decide how the final may go are both chases. Pakistan chased 208 against India in the group stage, and India overtook Afghanistan's 227 for 8 in the semi-final with 79 balls to spare. Teams batting second won both, and the toss will be an early question for the captains. The final is a day match, with a start at 9 am local time in Oman, and the outfield and pitch conditions at Al Amerat have produced totals between about 200 and 230 in the matches described here.
India's batting plan will probably rest on the opening pair again. Raichandani and Aaryavir Sehwag put on 117 for the first wicket in the semi-final, with Sehwag making 51 and Raichandani 93, and Vineeth finished unbeaten on 57. Pakistan's bowlers will aim to take early wickets, as they did in the group match, when India were restricted to a total that Pakistan reached with three wickets in hand.
On the bowling side, India used six bowlers against Afghanistan, with Sood taking 3 for 43, Savsani 2 for 29, and Kavya Paresh Patel, Yashvardhan Chauhan and Arjun Rajput one wicket each. The same group will have to contain Zahoor, whose century in the group match was the difference between the sides.
Sources
About the Author
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Amita Sahani
Staff Writer
Amita Sahani writes for Wirony. Every story under this byline is reviewed and approved by an editor before it is published, and corrections are made openly.
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