Whangharei: Riding on three wickets each by Azmatullah Omarzai and Qais Ahmed and a responsible 76* from Darwish Rasooli, Afghanistan stunned Pakistan by five wickets in the U-19 World Cup opener on Saturday.
Batting first, Pakistan lost opener Muhammad Zaid Alam for a duck early on and Ammad Alam, who walked in at number three couldn’t provide any resistance too, departing with the score at 2/23. But wicket-keeper batsman Rohail Nazir stood tall and fought his way to a gritty 81 from 105 balls with 9 fours. He was ably assisted by Ali Zaryab Asif who made 30 runs as the duo shared an 88-run stand that lifted the team out of trouble.
But that wasn’t to be as both Nazir and Asif were dismissed in a quick span of time, leaving Pakistan at 150/4. Furthermore, none of the remaining batters could hold fort and carry Pakistan to a respectable total as they were shot out for just 188 runs in 47.4 overs. Omarzai and Ahmad tok three wickets each.
In reply, Afghanistan too didn’t get to the best of starts as they lost opener Ibrahim Zadran with just 4 runs on the board. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Ali Khil the took control, putting up 38 runs on the board before the former was sent back for 31. But Darwish Rasooli, who came in to bat at number five held fort with an unbeaten 76 ensured that Afghanistan won the match comfortably with five wickets to spare.
In Mount Maunganui, it was New Zealand who triumphed over defending champions West Indies after they trounced them by eight wickets to kick off their U-19 World Cup campaign in style in Mount Maunganui.
Batting first, West Indies were off to a rollicking start as openers Keagan Simmons and Kimani Melius (78) put on a 123-run opening partnership. But Rachin Ravindra, who was a part of the same tournament two years back in Bangladesh made his presence felt as he provided the breakthrough, dismissing Melius that opened up the gates. None of the other batsmen could cross the fifty-run mark as Alick Athanaze scored 26 runs with the entire middle order failing to capitalise on the good start.
In the end, it was Simmons’ unbeaten 92 that ensured that the defending champions reach to a respectable total as they ended up on 233/8. In reply, they were completely floored by Finn Allen who produced a sparkling ton (115*) and Jacob Bhula (82) as the hosts cruised to the target with 10.3 overs to spare.
Allen, also a second timer in the tournament made full use of the opportunity as he hit 15 fours and 2 sixes in his 100-ball knock.
Brief scores-
Whangharei: Afghanistan U-19 194/5 (Darwish Rasooli 76*, Ikram Ali Khil 46; Hasan Khan 2/45) beat Pakistan U-19 188 all out in 47.4 overs (Rohail Nazir 81, Ali Zaryab Asif 30; Azmatullah Omarzai 3/34) by 5 wickets.
Tauranga: New Zealand U-19 234/2 (Finn Allen 115*, Jacob Bhula 83; Alick Athanze 1/22) beat West Indies U-19 233/8 (Keagan Simmons 92*, Kimani Melius 78; Rachin Ravindra 3/30) by 8 wickets.
Christchurch: Zimbabwe U-19 98/0 (Wesley Madhevere 53, Gregory Dollar 41; Vagi Karaho 0/12) beat Papua New Guinea U-19 95 all out in 20 overs (Igo Mahuru 26, Ovia Sam 24; Wesley Madhevere 3/19) by 10 wickets.
Lincoln: Namibia U-19 103/6 (Eben Van Wyk 55, Nicol Loftie-Eaton 24; Hasan Mahmud 2/12) lost to Bangladesh U-19 190/4 (Saif Hassan 84, Mohammad Naim 60; Petrus Burger 1/31) by 87 runs.