U19 World Cup 2018, Day 12- Round up

The twelfth day of the ICC U19 World Cup 2018 was witness to the third Quarter-Final of the Super League where Afghanistan and New Zealand locked horns at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The Afghans have been scintillating throughout the tournament and they replicated the same in the knock-out game with a thumping 202-run victory over the hosts.

Naveen-ul-Haq and Afghanistan had no hesitation whatsoever to bat first on what seemed a batting paradise. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started proceedings for the Afghans and stormed into the ascendancy with a stupendous opening stand of 100 runs off 200 balls. Rahmanullah notched a magnificent half-century and was the more aggressive partner.

He was particularly severe on the left-arm spin of Ben Lockrose and Rachin Ravindra and muscled them down the ground for a couple of sixes. The century stand was notched in the 18th over, which was also the team’s first century-run stand at the Under-19 level.  However, Sandeep Patel castled Rahmanullah to give New Zealand their first breakthrough.

His partner, Ibrahim Zadran looked in good touch but was dismissed for 68 runs as the Afghans lost three wickets in quick succession. However, Bahir Shah held fort and played a matured innings of 67 runs off 75 balls, which included four boundaries. Nevertheless, Azmatullah Omarzai stomped in, took the Kiwis attack to the cleaners and raced away to 66 runs off 23 balls including seven colossal sixes.

Afghanistan eventually posted a target for 310 runs for New Zealand to chase down. New Zealand was sloppy with their fielding and dropped a couple of chances in the outfield. The Kiwis faltered right from the outset and slumped to 20/4. However, Katene Clarke and Dale Phillips stitched a partnership of 66 runs to restore sanity in proceedings.

However, Mujeeb Zadran and Qais Ahmad ran through their batting lineup. Both snared four-wicket hauls to inflict a humiliating loss on the Kiwis. The Kiwis capitulated like a house of cards and posed minimal threat to the Afghan bowlers. The Afghans will now face Australia in the semi-final of the prestigious tournament.

The Plate Group

There were also three 9th place and 13th place play-off matches at Lincoln and Rangiora respectively. Zimbabwe and clashes in the 9th place semi-final at Lincoln. After Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first, Zimbabwe racked up 259 runs for the loss of four wickets. Half-centuries from Donald Mlambo, Jayden Schadendorf and Milton Shumba guided Zimbabwe to a respectable score.

Sri Lanka stuttered during their run-chase and lost four early wickets with 65 runs on the board. Nevertheless, Nishan Madushka’s magnificent century bailed them out and shepherded them to the triumph. Along with Nuwanidu Fernando, Madushka stitched a stand of 143 runs, which marked the comeback for Lanka.

In the 13th place semi-final game, Namibia comprehensively rolled over Kenya by eight wickets. Namibia and Lohan Louwrens won the toss and decided to have a crack at the Kenyan batsmen. Their bowlers, especially Peter Burger, delivered the goods as Kenya were bowled out for 176 runs. Aman Gandhi top-scored with 52 runs for Kenya while Burger notched a five-wicket haul.

The chase turned out to be a cakewalk for the Namibians as they tracked down the target with ease. Skipper Louwrens spanked his way to a knock of 114 runs from 76 balls which took the sting out of the Zimbabwe bowling lineup. They eventually cantered home with 23 overs to spare.

In the other 13th place semi-final, Ireland edged past Papua New Guinea in a low-scoring thriller. PNG lost early wickets, but a stand of 78 runs between Igo Mahuru and Heagi Toua guided them past the 100-run mark. However, they succumbed to a collapse and lost their final seven wickets for just 21 runs. Jonathan Garth was the pick of the Irish bowlers with four wickets.

Chasing a modest 122 runs, Ireland stumbled throughout and lost wickets at regular intervals. Nevertheless, Neil Rock’s patient hand of 43 runs off 76 balls got them to the threshold of victory and they romped home by three wickets.

Brief Scores

Afghanistan v New Zealand, Quarter-Final, Christchurch

Afghanistan 309/6 in 50 overs; Rahmanullah Gurbaz 69, Ibrahim Zadran 68; Sandeep Patel 2/13, Jakob Bhula 1/18

New Zealand 107 all out in 28.1 overs; Katene Clarke 38, Dale Phillips 31; Mujeeb Zadran 4/14, Qais Ahmad

Afghanistan beat New Zealand by 202 runs

Player of the Match: Azmatullah Omarzai

Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, 9th Place Play-off Semi-Final, Lincoln

Zimbabwe 259/4 in 50 overs; Jayden Schadendorf 74, Milton Shumba 62; Thisaru Rashmika 2/58, Dhananjaya Lakshan 1/13

Sri Lanka 260/5 in 45.3 overs; Nishan Madhuska 109*, Nuwanidu Fernando 68; Nkosilathi Nungu 2/49, Jayden Schadendorf 1/29

Player of the Match: Nishan Madushka

Papua New Guinea v Ireland, 13th Place Play-off Semi-Final, Rangiora

Papua New Guinea 121 all out in 37.1 overs; Igo Mahuru 45, Heagi Toua 39; Jonathan Garth 4/18, Harry Tector 3/32

Ireland 122/7 in 41.5 overs; Neil Rock 43, Jamie Grassi 24; James Tau 4/45, Semo Kamea 2/22

Ireland beat Papua New Guinea by three wickets  

Player of the Match: Jonathan Garth

Kenya v Namibia, 13th Place Play-off Semi-Final, Lincoln

Kenya 176 all out in 46.5 overs; Aman Gandhi 52, Aveet Desai 32; Peter Burger 5/24, Ben Shikongo 3/29

Namibia 180/2 in 27 overs; Lohan Louwrens 114, Jurgen Linde 30; Aveet Desai 1/10, Abhishekh Chidambaram 1/46

Namibia beat Kenya by eight wickets  

Player of the Match: Lohan Louwrens