ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2006: Pakistan Win Second Title by 38 Runs — Anwar Ali's 5/35 Bowls India Out for 71, Cheteshwar Pujara Player of the Tournament

Pakistan U19 won the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2006 on 19 February 2006 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo — their second U19 title, making them the first team to win back-to-back U19 World Cups. Pakistan scored 109 all out in 41.1 overs — a modest total that India could still not chase, being bowled out for just 71 in 18.5 overs. Pakistan won by 38 runs. Anwar Ali won Player of the Match with 5/35. Cheteshwar Pujara (India, the losing team) won Player of the Tournament. Sarfaraz Ahmed captained Pakistan; Ravikant Shukla captained India. Note: Rohit Sharma played for India in this tournament but was not the captain.

Pakistan 109 All Out, India 71 All Out: A Low-Scoring Final Decided by Bowling

The 2006 ICC U19 World Cup final was a low-scoring contest that reversed the typical assumption of batting-dominant 50-over finals: Pakistan being bowled out for only 109 in 41.1 overs — a total that looked highly chaseable — but India collapsing to 71 all out in just 18.5 overs, 38 runs short, gave the Colombo final its remarkable character. A 38-run winning margin for Pakistan despite only scoring 109 all out reflects how completely Pakistan's bowling — led by Anwar Ali's 5/35 — dismantled India's batting across the 18.5 overs of their chase: India losing all ten wickets before reaching the 19th over while chasing a target that seemed well within reach. Anwar Ali's 5/35, combined with the bowling partnership that reduced India to 71 all out in 18.5 overs, gave the 2006 U19 final its defining narrative: Pakistan's 109 being more than enough because India's batting completely failed against Anwar Ali's bowling quality.

Sarfaraz Ahmed Captain, Cheteshwar Pujara Player of the Tournament From India

Sarfaraz Ahmed captaining Pakistan U19 to the 2006 ICC U19 World Cup — the right-handed wicketkeeper-batter from Karachi who would go on to become Pakistan's senior wicketkeeper-batter and Test captain — gave the Colombo final its most significant future-senior-career captain, with Sarfaraz's 2006 U19 title leadership presaging his later Pakistan senior captaincy that included the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy title. Cheteshwar Pujara winning Player of the Tournament from the losing India team — his sustained batting excellence across the Sri Lanka tournament's group and knockout stages accumulating more runs than any other batter — gave the 2006 edition its award to the player who would become one of India's most celebrated Test batting mainstays across the 2010s and early 2020s. Rohit Sharma, playing for India in the 2006 U19 World Cup but not as captain, participated in the Colombo tournament that produced two future senior India stars (Rohit and Pujara) on the losing team alongside Sarfaraz Ahmed on the winning Pakistan side.

ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2006 in Context

The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2006 — held in Sri Lanka in January-February 2006 — was the 9th edition of the competition. Pakistan's 38-run win over India — Anwar Ali 5/35 Player of the Match, India 71 all out in 18.5 overs chasing Pakistan's 109, Pujara Player of the Tournament from losing India, Sarfaraz Ahmed captaining Pakistan — gave Pakistan their second U19 title, the first back-to-back champion in the competition's history. India, captained by Ravikant Shukla, had reached the final with Cheteshwar Pujara accumulating the tournament's most runs (Player of the Tournament) — but India's 71 all out in 18.5 overs chasing 109 gave Pakistan the final's most decisive moment: a full India batting collapse to a total that any competent India team should have chased without losing ten wickets. Anwar Ali's 5/35 was the bowling performance that made the impossible possible — a 109-run total defended — and gave Pakistan their back-to-back U19 championship.