Pakistan ask India to field in Under-19 Asia Cup final

Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf won the toss and chose to bat first against India in the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup final in Al Amerat.

Pakistan head into the game with an unchanged XI, while India have swapped out their leading wicket-taker, Ishan Sood, who is suffering from a back niggle, for medium-fast bowler Chigurupati Venkata.

The game is being played on a fresh pitch, which "looks good for batting," Yousaf said at the toss.

The two teams are facing off in the final of the Under-19 tournament for the second consecutive year. Pakistan are the defending champions - they beat India by a whopping 191 runs in the final in Dubai in 2025 - and have won all four games in this edition, including a come-from-behind win against India earlier in the group stage.

They also secured a convincing nine-wicket win against Bangladesh in the semi-final after Rizwanullah's five-for in the first innings, while India cruised past Afghanistan in a chase of 230, led by their captain Lakshya Raichandani's 93.

India: 1 Lakshya Raichandani (capt), 2 Aaryavir Sehwag, 3 VK Vineeth, 4 Yashbardhan Chauhan, 5 Arjun Rajat, 6 Anvay Dravid (wk), 7 Manal Chauhan, 8 Mohit Ulva, 9 Aryan Savsani, 10 Kavya Paresh Patel, 11 Ishan Sood

Pakistan: 1 Usman Khan, 2 Hayam Khan, 3 Abdul Qadir, 4 Ahmed Hussain, 5 Farhan Yousaf (capt), 6 Hamza Zahoor (wk), 7 Hasnain Abbas Dar, 8 Mohammad Sayyam, 9 Ali Raza, 10 Niqab Shafiq, 11 Rizwanullah