BUDERIM: Pakistan sealed a five-wicket win over New Zealand in Buderim on Thursday to make it three victories in a row and set up a quarter-final clash with arch-rivals India in the U19 cricket world cup.
Pakistan’s five bowlers picked up at least a wicket each, as New Zealand’s decision to bat first backfired.
The top-order batsmen got starts but batted slowly and were dismissed after being set. Opener Joe Carter made 21, captain Will Young chipped in with 18, Robert O’Donnell made 29 and Henry Walsh top-scored with 33. But only one stand in the entire innings went past 50. Seamers Zia-ul-Haq and Ehsan Adil bagged two wickets each and Mohammad Nawaz’s left-arm spin continued to be effective, fetching him two wickets as well. All New Zealand managed in the end was 152 for 8 in 50 overs.
In their response, Pakistan lost their captain Babar Azam early but Imam-ul-Haq made 40, adding 51 with No5 batsman Saad Ali. Nawaz made a quick, unbeaten 23 and saw Pakistan through to victory in the 32nd over in the company of Salman Afridi. England in the other match secured their passage to the quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup by routing Nepal in Townsville on the final day of group matches.
Batting first after winning the toss, England’s innings progressed smoothly enough thanks to Foakes’ rapid scoring, all the top eight batsmen having double figures. Ben Duckett’s rapid-fire 55 from 33 balls livened up the closing passage of the innings, and ensured Nepal were chasing a very steep target indeed to register an unlikely first win of the competition.
Bangladesh on the other hand confirmed a quarter-final clash with Australia, beating Namibia by seven wickets in Brisbane. The win meant Bangladesh finished the group stage at No 2 on the Group D points table, behind South Africa but ahead of Sri Lanka.
Namibia chose to bat, but could not get much of a partnership going all through their innings. Their batsmen failed to build on starts: while seven of their top eight got into double digits, no one other than captain Stephan Baard, who managed 40, got past 20. The Bangladesh bowlers, left-arm spinner Naeem Islam jnr in particular, maintained very tidy economy rates and shared the wickets around, as Namibia were bowled out for 151 in the 50th over.
The chase was anchored by opener Liton Das, who remained not out on 70. Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque and Al-Amin played quick cameos around Das, helping Bangladesh ease home with 13 overs to spare. Bangladesh will play their quarterfinal against Australia on Sunday in Townsville.
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