New Delhi, Nov. 14 -- Mohit Ulva went from playing tennis-ball cricket as a youngster to becoming India's unlikely match-winner in the Under-19 Asia Cup final. The 18-year-old struck an unbeaten 49 off just 26 balls, hitting the winning boundary off the last delivery to help India beat Pakistan by one wicket in Muscat on Saturday.

With India needing eight runs from the final over and just one wicket remaining, the pressure was firmly on Ulva. But the teenager kept his nerve, taking India across the line with a boundary off the final ball to seal a remarkable chase of 338 runs.

India had looked in trouble at 252 for eight when Ulva walked in at No. 10. What followed was an innings that turned the final around and earned him the Player of...