U-19 Asia Cup: Azan Awais scores ton as Pakistan beat India by 8 wickets
Dubai, Dec 10: Pakistan rode on Azan Awais's classy unbeaten century to beat arch-rivals India by eight wickets in the ongoing U-19 Asia Cup here on Sunday.
India managed a mediocre 259 for 9 in 50 overs, largely due to late surge by Sachin Dhas, who tonked three sixes in his 42-ball-58.
Skipper Uday Saharan (60 off 98 balls) and opener Adarsh Singh (62 off 81 balls) couldn't force the pace adding only 93 runs in 20 overs.
For the winners, right-arm medium pacer Mohammed Zeeshan took four for 46.
The biggest name among U-19s -- Sarfaraz Khan's younger brother Musheer (2) couldn't repeat the performance of the opening game.
In reply, Pakistan romped home in just 47 overs with southpaw Azan anchoring the chase, scoring a patient 105 not out off 130 balls with 10 fours.
He first added 110 for the second wicket with opener Shazaib Khan (63 off 88 balls) and another 125 in just 19.1 overs with Saad Baig, who smashed unbeaten 68 off just 51 balls with eight boundaries and a maximum.
Skipper Saharan used as many as seven bowlers but they didn't measure with only off-spinner Murugan Abhishek picking up the two wickets.
Musheer had a forgettable outing as he was clobbered for 32 runs in four overs.
India will be playing its final group league match on Tuesday against Nepal and need to win it in order to qualify for the semi-final while Pakistan with two wins from two games would have to lose by a huge margin to Afghanistan in order to qualify.
It shouldn't be a problem for India colts as Nepal aren't the toughest team to beat, having already lost both their encounters.
Brief Scores:
India 259/9 in 50 overs (Uday Saharan 60, Adarsh Singh 62, Sachin Dhas 58, Mohd. Zeeshan 4/46).
Pakistan 263/2 in 47 overs (Azan Awais 105 not out, Saab Baig 68 not out, Shazaib Khan 63, Murugan Abhishek 2/55).
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Noida International Airport appoints Nitu Samra as interim CEO
New Delhi (PTI): Noida International Airport on Friday announced the appointment of its Chief Financial Officer Nitu Samra as the interim Chief Executive Officer after authorities denied permission for foreign national Christoph Schnellmann to be at the helm.
"This change follows directions issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the Chief Executive Officer of an airport in India is required to be an Indian national," NIA said in a statement.
Samra will replace Schnellmann, a Swiss national who has led Noida International Airport (NIA) as the CEO since August 2020.
The regulatory issue related to the requirement of having an Indian national as CEO has been delaying the start of commercial operations of the airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.
Schnellmann will join the airport's Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman. In this role, he will continue to support the project and its transition to operations, the statement said.
With immediate effect, NIA said Samra has been appointed as the CEO on an interim basis until the Board of Directors can conclude a formal selection process.
Samra has been serving as the CFO since October 2021 and was closely involved in the airport’s development journey, overseeing financial stewardship, governance, and strategic planning during a key phase of the project, the statement added.
NIA will be operated by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a public-private partnership.
Originally scheduled to commence passenger services in September 2024, NIA is being developed in four phases, along with a dedicated cargo terminal. It received an aerodrome license from the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in March.
YIAPL Chairman Daniel Bircher said that since the inauguration of the airport by the Prime Minister, the goal was to enable the start of operations as early as possible.
"This management change brings the airport into compliance with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security requirements while maintaining continuity in the airport’s leadership team. The newly structured team will support a smooth transition into operations, guided by clear and transparent governance and a strong corporate culture," he said.
On March 28, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said commercial flight operations from the airport would start in the next 45 to 60 days.
Among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, NIA will initially have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum.
Once fully developed, the airport will have a total passenger handling capacity of 70 million.
The first phase of NIA has been developed at an investment of around Rs 11,200 crore. 'DXN' is the code for the airport.
The airport features a 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.
The peak handling capacity in the first phase will be 30 flights per hour.
In the first phase, there will be 28 aircraft stands, and the projected cargo capacity is around 2.5 lakh tonnes.
Terminal 1 of the airport is spread across 1,37,985 square metres with 48 check-in counters. Over 40 acres of land have been earmarked for developing MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities at the airport.
