The hero of India’s U19 team, Mohit Ulva, who took the side over the line in a dramatic U19 Asia Cup 2026 final against Pakistan on Saturday, has opened up on the team’s aggressive celebration after the victory. Mohit stole a win for India from the jaws of defeat, thanks to his 49 not out off 26 balls. A day after the thrilling win at Al Amerat, the right-handed all-rounder said that the animated celebration of the Indian players had nothing to do with their Pakistani opponents.
“It is natural. It was an India vs Pakistan match, and additionally, a final. The way they celebrated after beating us in the league stage. Actually, we were not even taking their celebration personally. We were thinking that they were celebrating their own victory. It doesn’t matter what they do. We did likewise. We were celebrating our own victory. It had emotions, aggression, and everything. We did nothing to show them. We were celebrating among ourselves, and everything was natural,” he told Star Sports.
Mohit and his teammate Manal Chauhan did the unthinkable. The Indian duo handed Pakistan a stunning one-wicket defeat, stitching together a 57-run partnership off just 35 balls in the chase of 338 runs in the U19 Asia Cup final.
India U19 had their backs against the wall, with the asking rate climbing above 10 in the last few overs, but Chauhan’s 47 off 32 and Mohit’s unbeaten knock won a game for the Indian side that will be remembered for years.
India needed three runs off the final ball to win the game against Pakistan. Mohit jumped out of his crease and slammed the ball through extra cover to smash the winning boundary.
“I could not believe I had actually finished the game. I was a bit zoned out before I realised that I had actually done it. Then I started celebrating,” Mohit said.
When asked about the nature of the celebrations, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia downplayed the controversy, noting that the high-stakes nature of the game inevitably causes emotions to overflow.
“That reflects their character and fighting spirit. Consider how much of a cliffhanger today’s match was-at one point, it really didn’t look like it was in India’s favour. Yet, India managed to win. This speaks volumes about the team’s confidence and their ‘never-say-die’ attitude. When they win a match from such a difficult position, they certainly deserve to celebrate; that’s something we must allow,” he said.
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