U19 World Cup 2018, Day 7 - Round-up

The U19 World Cup 2018 has entered its business end, teams are looking to outclass each other and progress to the next stages. The seventh day of the tournament witnessed a couple of drab encounters and a low-scoring thriller. Pakistan and Sri Lanka clashed in a must-win encounter in Whangarei.

With Afghanistan sitting pretty at the top of Group D, both the teams needed a win to keep their quarter-final hopes alive. However, it was Pakistan who emerged victorious by three wickets and moved to the top of the ladder. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka crashed out of the tournament following successive stutters against Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Hasan Khan and Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. The decision paid dividends as they reduced Sri Lanka to 72/5 after 22.4 overs. Nevertheless, a 76-run partnership between Jehan Daniel and Ashen Bandara gave respectability to Lanka’s score. They were eventually bowled out for 188 runs in 48.2 overs. Right-arm fast bowler Suleiman Shafqat was Pakistan’s pick of the bowlers with three wickets.

Chasing a modest target, Pakistan stumbled at several stages, but a gutsy knock of 59 runs off 94 balls by Ali Zaryab Asif kept them in contention for a victory. They eventually required 25 runs with three wickets remaining and Muhammad Musa’s cameo of 23 runs off 18 balls steered them past the finishing line.

Australia and Papua New Guinea clashed in a Group B game in Lincoln. The sides were a complete mismatch in terms of quality and experience. Quite expectantly, Australia annihilated them by a massive margin of 311 runs to strengthen their chances of a quarter-final berth. PNG won the toss and elected to field first.

Nathan McSweeney took the PNG bowlers by the scruff of the neck and notched a stupendous knock of 156 runs off 111 balls. Jason Sangha and Chandigarh-born Param Uppal also scored useful half-centuries to register a massive score of 370/8 in 50 overs. During their run-chase, PNG capitulated like a pack of cards and were bowled out for 59 runs in 24.5 overs.

Leke Morea top-scored for them with 20 runs, however, no other batsman could breach the double-figure mark with extras being the second highest score. Fast-bowler Jason Ralston finished with figures of 6.5-0-15-7, which turned out to be the best bowling figures in U19 World Cups and the second highest in U19 international cricket.

India and Zimbabwe clashed in another Group B encounter at the Mount Maunganui. Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat, but never could never set the ball rolling. They were tied down by the Indian bowlers, especially the spinners following which they huffed and puffed to 154 all out. Several batsmen including skipper Liam Ronche got starts but were unable to substantiate them.

Anukul Roy emerged as India’s stand-out bowler with four wickets for 20 runs. Chasing 155, India were hardly challenged and they stomped to a 10-wicket victory. Shubman Gill and Harvik Desai churned out half-centuries to ensure India’s win without any hiccup. The victory also ensured that they finish at the top of the table.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Group D, Whangarei

Sri Lanka 188 in 48.2 overs; Jehan Daniel 53, Ashen Bandara 37 (Suleiman Shafqat 3/29, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2/41)

Pakistan 190/7 in 43.3 overs (Ali Zaryab Asif 59, Muhammad Zaid Alam 28; Thisaru Rashmika 3/47, Nipun Malinga 1/30)

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets

Man of the Match: Ali Zaryab Asif

Australia v Papua New Guinea, Group B, Lincoln

Australia 370/8 in 50 overs (Nathan McSweeney 156, Jason Sangha 88; James Tau 2/42, Semo Kamea 2/63)

Papua New Guinea 59 all out in 24.5 overs (Leke Morea 20, Heagi Toua 6; Jason Ralston 7/15, Ryan Hadley 1/11)

Australia beat Papua New Guinea by 311 runs

Man of the Match: Nathan McSweeney

India v Zimbabwe, Group B, Mount Maunganui

Zimbabwe 154 all out in 48.1 overs (Milton Shumba 36, Liam Ronche 31; Anukul Roy 4/20, Arshdeep Singh 2/10)

India 155/0 in 21.4 overs (Harvik Desai 56*, Shubman Gill 90*; Leke Ronche 0/27, Nkosilathi Nungu 0/44)

India beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets

Man of the Match: Shubman Gill