Men’s U19 WC: West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka notch up victories

POTCHEFSTROOM: In a triple-header day at the 2024 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, Jewel Andrew shone yet again with an unbeaten half-century as West Indies got off the mark on the points table with an important five-wicket win over Scotland in Potchefstroom.

Alexander Volschenk said that the team needed to sort out their batting before the next game. “Our fielding and bowling were significant, but we just crumbled with the bat. We will need to try and sort it out before the next game against Zimbabwe.”

Player of the Match Supun Waduge expressed his elation at playing a massive role in the win. “I had a positive mindset and did my basics right; I was happy to score some runs. In Sri Lanka, we practised in similar conditions so it was easier for me to adapt to these wickets and play late.”

In East London, Nepal put up a tough fight against Pakistan after opting to bat first. The openers got off to a quickfire start aided by some wayward bowling from Pakistan’s new ball bowlers, but Ahmed Hussain’s introduction at first-change brought the breakthrough.

The leg-spinner cleaned up Arjun Kamal and then had Aakash Tripathi caught in the next over. A composed Bipin Rawal and skipper Dev Khanal rebuilt for Nepal but left-arm spinners Arafat Minhas and Ali Asfand helped Pakistan take back control in the game.

Asfand produced the breakthrough by sending back Khanal (23) in the 18th over. Minhas then dismissed wicketkeeper Uttam Magar and the well-settled Rawal (39) in fairly quick succession.

From 80/2, Nepal slipped to 96/5, but they fought back with the lower middle-order contributing runs. Gulshan Jha, Deepak Dumre and Subash Bhandari added over 60 runs between them and with further runs from the No.10 Aakash Chand, Nepal reached a respectable 197.

Minhas with three wickets was the key bowler for Pakistan with Ubaid Shah snaring the final two wickets off back-to-back deliveries in the final over. In reply, an 80-run opening stand between Shamyl Hussain and Shahzaib Khan, who had made a hundred in the first game, gave Pakistan a strong platform.

The two were watchful at the start, scoring only 33 runs in the first 10 overs, but runs started to flow better after the Powerplay overs. Just as it seemed Pakistan were cruising to the target, Chand struck a double blow in the 22nd over, sending back both openers in the space of three deliveries.

He added a third a few overs later by dismissing Minhas for eight. Aakash Tripathi joined in on the act with a fourth wicket in the 28th over and Pakistan were suddenly in a spot of bother at 104/4.

However, Azam Awais stood firm for Pakistan from No.4, with Hassan lending a good hand. The fifth-wicket stand of 54 put Pakistan on top in the game and erased any hopes of an upset win for Nepal.

Dipesh Kandel dismissed Hussain for 29, but Awais remained unbeaten on 63*, taking his team to a win with a lofted hit for four over mid-on. Pakistan take on New Zealand in their final game, with both teams having already made the Super Six stage. Nepal, meanwhile, with two losses, will need a win against Afghanistan to stay in contention.

Player of the Match Azan Awais identified his stand with Hassan as a crucial part of the run-chase. “The pitch was tough in the second innings, the ball wasn't coming on easily. Ahmad (Hassan) and me planned to play till the last. We batted really well to win the game despite the wickets in the middle overs.”