Pakistan, South Africa top respective groups; Zimbabwe enter Super Six
The ninth day of ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 saw action in Kimberley, Potchefstroom, and East London.
Check all the live action from U19 Cricket World Cup 2024 at ICC.tv
With a solid 10-wicket win over New Zealand, Pakistan went into the Super Six as the Group D toppers.
In Potchefstroom, South Africa overcame an indifferent effort with the ball to register a seven-wicket win over Scotland with 23 overs to spare.
Meanwhile, ZImbabwe defeated fellow African side Namibia by eight wickets to secure a place in the Super Six stage of the World Cup.
Zimbabwe made it to the Super Six.
Zimbabwe defeated Namibia by eight wickets in Kimberley
Toss: Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field
Hansie de Villiers was trapped lbw early in the innings by Kohl Eksteen. Along with JW Visagie, Gerhard Janse van Rensburg stabilised the innings against a disciplined Zimbabwe. Visagie fell finally when he played on against Newman Nyamhuri.
The Eagles couldn't escape Nyamhuri's wrath over the upcoming overs, as the left-armed seamer kept getting crucial breakthroughs. Janse van Rensburg (23) was the next to go when he tried to pull Nyamhuri but ended up giving a leading edge straight to the third. Before Namibia could get back on their feet, Zacheo van Vuuren saw his off stump uprooted after missing a sharp delivery from Nyamhuri.
Alex Volschenk tried to bring the innings back on track, but Ryan Simbi struck thrice to derail the Namibia innings. He accounted for Ben Brassell, Volschenk and Jack Brassell before Namibia could touch 100.
Newman Nyamhuri was the POTM for his 4/21.
It took a sturdy effort from Hanro Badenhorst (39*) to help Namibia bat out their 50 overs. Newman Nyamhuri finished with 4/21 for his effort.
The Young Chevrons were steady yet safe in their approach. 21 were added for the first wicket, mostly from the willow of wicket-keeper Ryan Kamwemba, before he fell lbw to Jack Brassell. Panashe Taruvinga and Brandon Sunguro stuck to the same principle, bringing up their 50-run stand in the 17th over, but scoring merely four runs off the next four overs. Taruvinga then slammed four fours in the 22nd over.
The modest target ahead allowed them to vary their approach as per the conditions. Though Sunguro fell for 29, Taruvinga kept fighting from his end. With seven fours in his 59*, the batter helped the Young Chevrons seal the deal in the 36th over.
This win helped Zimbabwe into the Super Six stage.
South Africa chased down 270 in 27 overs.
South Africa defeated Scotland by 7 wickets in Potchefstroom
Toss: South Africa won the toss and elected to field
Jamie Dunk and Adi Hegde were off to their characteristic cautious start, preferring preservation of wickets over adventurous shot-making. An effort yorker from Riley Norton finally got rid off Hedge in the 11th over.
Dunk was joined by Alec Price, and the innings got some initiative. Having already set in, Dunk went for his shots. Price joined him with back to back fours against Juan James in the 21st over. However, Price fell while trying to waft a Sipho Potsane delivery towards the leg-side. He missed the ball and was trapped lbw.
Skipper Owen Gould struck the right tone with the bat, hitting a number of fours along with Dunk to set a solid foundation for Scotland. The duo added 115-runs for the third wicket, off merely 121 balls.
Steve Stolk hit eight fours and seven sixes during his 37-ball 86.
A cameo from Uzair Ahmed lit up the final Powerplay. The batter hit three sixes in his 25 from eight balls. Norton removed him, but backed by Gould's late charge, Scotland were moving towards a strong finish. His fighting 97 got them to the second-highest total on this ground in this tournament. Norton's 3/48 and Kwena Maphaka (2/53) were the standout performers for South Africa.
Steve Stolk came out all guns blazing in the chase. He smashed a fifty off merely 13 balls. The right-hander smashed fours sixes off the first four balls of Qasim Khan's second over before a slash towards the leg-side fell short off the boundary and became a four. There was little relief off the final ball of the over, as Stolk smashed another big six out of the ground.
While his partner Lhuan-dre Pretorius also got going with some big hits, Stolk's hitting was in another league. He hit seven fours and eight sixes during his 37-ball 86. It was Nikhil Koteeswaran who accounted for both the openers, getting Pretorius caught by Alec Price, while trapping Stolk lbw. However, South Africa were well ahead of the require rate by then.
Adi Hegde brought another breakthrough in the form of Tristan Luus, but Dewan Marais took off from where the openers had left, and churned out runs quickly. Along with David Teeger, he helped finish off the chase in the 27th over. They added 121 runs off merely 13.1 overs.
A big win helped South Africa top the group as well.
Pakistan beat New Zealand by 10 wickets in East London
Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 10 wickets in East London
Toss: New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
It was all Ubaid Shah at the start of the Kiwi innings. The pacer beat the bat several times by getting the ball to jag around considerably. He ran through the New Zealand top order in his first spell. Luke Watson had barely settled in when Ubaid beat him with a peach and sent his off stump cartwheeling.
His partner, Tom Jones, looked like he had settled in with three boundaries, but Ubaid's moved one prodigiously in the seventh over and got a thick nick that went behind to the keeper. Snehith Reddy was sent packing off the last ball of the same over when Ubaid swung one in and sent his middle stump into air.
Oscar Jackson added 26 for the fourth wicket along with Ollie Tewatiya but fell to a good length ball from Mohammad Zeeshan. Jackson tried to go leg side but the ball rose on him and took a leading edge which went straight to the gully region.
Lachlan Stackpole brought the initiative back to New Zealand with a flurry of boundaries. He backed his timing against the pacers, and used power to muscle fours and sixes against the spinners.
u19WC2024_Match_NZvPAK_SKhan_HalfCentury_POTMHL.mp4 (2024-01-27 13:22:51Z)
Naveed Khan brought Pakistan back into the game with his strikes. Stackpole fell while trying to dispatch the off-spinner over the covers. The ball didn't elevate to the intended level, and Shamyl Hussain took a catch. Tewatiya was the next to go, getting stumped off Naveed's bowling. Ali Asfand and Arafat Minhas struck with their left-arm spin to rattle the Kiwi tail.
The Kiwi innings fell through, and they were bowled out for 140.
In response, Shamyl Hossain and Shahzaib Khan had Pakistan off to the perfect start. Putting their foot on the pedal, they set the right tone for the chase. Shahzaib took the lead in run scoring, even as the Boys in Green went at better than run a ball.
The duo slowed down after their enthusiastic start, going at about four an over between overs 11-17. However, Shahzaib picked pace again, taking on Tewatiya, hitting the left-arm spinner for two sixes in the 19th over. Shamyl followed suit taking on Zac Cumming in the 21st over, hitting a six and a four against the leg-spinner, before letting Shahzaib sign off with a six off the final ball of the over.
The duo made it feel like Pakistan were playing on a different wicket. The Boys in Green won the game with all their wickets intact.