ICC U-19 World Cup: Pakistan books quarterfinal berth

Beats Sri Lanka by three wickets; Australia thrashes PNG.

Pakistan’s player celebrate their win.

A three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Whangerei gave Pakistan a berth in the quarterfinals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup. After having been bowled out for 188, Sri Lanka tried to stay in the competition via a bowling effort that dented significantly the opposition batting line-up; at one stage, Pakistan was restricted to 165 for 6, but Hasan Khan, the captain, and Muhammad Musa, the No. 9, saw the team through.

Sri Lanka’s defeat meant it will not progress to the knockouts, handing Afghanistan the second qualifying spot from Group D.

Having put in to bat, Sri Lanka suffered early jolts in the form of quick and regular wickets. Five of its top-order batsmen were back in the pavilion with the score at 72. Jehan Daniel (53) and Ashen Bandara (37) put together a partnership of 76 runs to provide some resistance, before the tail was cleaned up without much ado, largely via fast-medium bowler Suleman Shafqat.

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Pakistan, in reply, also lost early wickets; left-arm fast medium bowler Thisaru Rashmika had two batsmen bowled as the opposition struggled at 57 for 3. Ali Zaryab Asif hit a half-century (59) and developed fruitful partnerships with Mohammad Taha to stem the rot. There were further setbacks along the way, before the target was achieved in the 44th over.

Demolition

In the other match of the day, in Lincoln, Australia razed Papua New Guinea with bat and ball to collect a 311-run win. Nathan McSweeney hit 156 to help Australia reach 370; Jason Ralston, then, registered the U-19 World Cup’s best figures, taking seven for 15 to bowl PNG out for 59.

• Australia 370 for 8 in 50 overs (McSweeney 156, Sangha 88, Uppal 61) beat Papua New Guinea 59 in 24.5 overs (Ralston 7 for 15) by 311 runs.
• Sri Lanka 188 in 48.2 overs (Daniel 53; Shafqat 3 for 29) lost to Pakistan 190 for 7 in 43.3 overs (Zaryab 59; Rashmika 3 for 47) by three wickets.