Defending champions Pakistan opened their U19 Asia Cup 2026 campaign with a commanding nine-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates at Al Amerat in Muscat on Friday, 6 November 2026, chasing down 225 with more than twelve overs to spare.
Opener Usman Khan was the star of the Group A match at the Ministry Turf 2 ground, scoring an unbeaten 139 from 120 balls to carry Pakistan home in 37.3 overs. His innings, decorated with 21 fours and a six, turned what could have been a testing chase into a comfortable statement of intent from the holders.
Usman Khan Runs the U19 Asia Cup 2026 Chase With a Big Hundred
Usman found a solid partner in Jahangir Bilal, and the pair put on 153 for the first wicket to break the back of the target. Bilal made 60 from 87 balls before he was dismissed, and Abdul Qadir then joined Usman to finish the job with an unbeaten 20.
The hundred was Usman’s fourth century in Youth One Day Internationals, and it earned him the player of the match award. Few opening stands in youth cricket this year have looked as controlled: Pakistan lost only one wicket all evening and never let the required rate become a problem. The chase was completed with 75 balls to spare, the kind of margin that also lifts the net run rate, a factor that often decides group positions in short tournaments.
As defending champions, Pakistan carried the favourites’ tag into this ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2026, and the performance showed why. The batting had depth, the bowling attack shared the wickets around, and the fielding supported both. It was the complete start a title defence demands.
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UAE Post 224 as Pakistan Bowlers Share the Wickets
Earlier, Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf won the toss and chose to field, and his bowlers justified the call by dismissing the UAE for 224 in exactly 50 overs. Noorullah Ayubi top-scored for the hosts with 70, while Yayin Kiran Rai added 47, but no UAE batter could convert a start into the big score their side needed.
Mohammad Sayyam led the attack with 3 for 37. He was backed up by Hasnain Abbas Dar (2 for 22), Ali Raza (2 for 38) and Rizwanullah (2 for 55), a spread of wickets that shows the depth in this Pakistan squad.
Usman’s innings, by contrast, was a one-man show at the top of the order: 139 runs from 120 balls, a strike rate of about 116, with the boundaries spread all around the ground. For the UAE, a young side in a tough group, Ayubi’s fighting 70 at least gave their bowlers something to defend, and the experience of facing the defending champions at full strength will serve their players well in the matches ahead.
Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore under floodlights on a match night (file photo)
Photo: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
A Perfect Start Before the India Test
The win gives Pakistan two early points and a healthy net run rate at the start of the U19 Asia Cup 2026 group stage. The squad had arrived in Oman last week determined to defend the title, as covered in our report on the Pakistan U19 squad arriving in Oman to defend the U19 Asia Cup 2026 title.
A much sterner test comes next: Pakistan face India on Sunday, 8 November, in the match that usually decides the mood of the whole tournament. With the senior side also climbing the rankings, as our story on Pakistan climbing to fourth in the ICC ODI rankings shows, it has been a good few weeks for Pakistan cricket at every level. You can follow more wins like this on our Pakistan Sports Good News page.
Sources
- Cricket World: Pakistan U19s open title defence with dominant nine-wicket win over UAE
- Geo Super: Usman Khan hits hundred as Pakistan thrash UAE in U19 Asia Cup opener
- Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
- Featured image: A cricket stadium under floodlights during a night match (Javs1233, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
- In-body image: Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore under floodlights during the Pakistan Super League 2026 (Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Umar Farooq is the founder and editor of Good News Pakistan. An engineer by profession and a writer by passion, he started the site in December 2022 to share good news from Pakistan, and has since written and edited more than 200 articles about its people, sports, science, business and world records. He believes the story of Pakistan is bigger than its headlines, and that good news, told honestly, is worth telling every day.