West Indies Under-19 229 for 5 (Imlach 54, Hetmyer 52, Springer 37) beat Pakistan Under-19 227 for 6 (Masood 113, Fayyaz 38, Holder 2-26) by five wickets
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Shimron Hetmyer’s first half-century of the tournament helped West Indies eat into the target of 227 as they won with 10 overs to spare © International Cricket Council
Shimron Hetmyer, the West Indies captain, had contributed all of 23 runs in four innings going into the quarterfinals of the Under-19 World Cup. When the heat was on, he led the way with a sparkling half-century that helped West Indies chase down Pakistan’s 227 for 6 by five wickets in Fatullah to set up a semifinal date with hosts Bangladesh.
That meant Umair Masood’s fighting 113 and his 164-run stand for the sixth wicket with Salman Fayyaz that helped Pakistan stage a remarkable recovery from 57 for 5 went in vain as West Indies chased down the target with 10 overs to spare.
Chemar Holder, the pacer who flew into Dhaka only two days ago as a replacement for the injured Obed McCoy, did the early damage by dismissing Zeeshan Malik, the Pakistan captain, and Shadab Khan inside six overs. Things continued to slide as Alzarri Joseph, the pacer who clocked the fastest ball of the tournament at 147 clicks, dismissed Mohammad Umar to leave Pakistan’s top three back in the hut inside nine overs.
When Saif Badar and Hasan Mohsin were dismissed, Pakistan were in danger of folding inside 100. As the pitch eased out considerably, Masood opened up to play freely and was complemented well by the pugnacious Fayyaz, who rotated strike efficiently in the middle overs. Masood cut loose towards the end as Pakistan smashed 82 runs off the last 10 overs.
Gidron Pope smashed two fours and two sixes in his 25 as West Indies wiped out 45 in the first six overs, before he was caught at point to give Ahmad Shafiq a breakthrough. But the momentum was carried forward by Hetmyer, who used his feet admirably against the spinners to pinch boundaries at will to eat into the target. Hetmyer’s dismissal for 52 that broke a 77-run stand allowed Pakistan to claw back as the spinners choked the runs for a brief while.
West Indies didn’t help their cause with two runs out that left the game on an even keel, until Shamar Springer’s run-a-ball 37 brought the target to inside 40, which was wiped ou by Jyd Goolie and Keemo Paul as West Indies cruised home with plenty to spare.
Zimbabwe Under-19s 94 for 2 (Ives 34*) beat South Africa Under-19s 91 (Moonsamy 32, Ngarava 4-10) by eight wickets
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A four-wicket haul from Richard Ngarava gave Zimbabwe Under-19s a thumping win over South Africa Under-19s in the ninth-place playoff semi-final in Cox’s Bazar. Ngarava finished with figures of 4 for 10 as Zimbabwe sent South Africa in to bat and bowled them out for 91. A 46-ball 32 from Rivaldo Moonsamy, batting at No. 6, was the only innings of any real magnitude as South Africa folded inside the 40th over. Zimbabwe completed their chase in 22 overs, with no real hiccups as Ryan Murray (26*) and Jeremy Ives (34*) saw them through with an unbroken partnership of 52 for the third wicket.
Scotland Under-19s 225 (McCreath 60, Shah 39, Tikoisuva 4-46) beat Fiji Under-19s 149 (Vuniwaqa 80, Sloman 3-30, McCreath 3-48) by 76 runs
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An all-round display from Finlay McCreath propelled Scotland Under-19s to a 76-run win over Fiji Under-19s in the 13th place playoff semi-final. Fiji sent Scotland in to bat and made regular inroads – particularly via Cakacaka Tikoisuva, who finished with figures of 4 for 46 – but McCreath’s 82-ball 60 (4×4, 1×6) steered them to a total of 225.
Fiji’s chase floundered right from the start, and they were in danger of folding for under 100 for the fourth time in the tournament when they lost their seventh wicket with only 64 on the board. But Peni Vuniwaqa, Fiji’s highest run-getter in the tournament, made their first half-century of the tournament, and added 47 for the eighth wicket with Josaia Baleicikoibia (27) to ensure they did not suffer that fate. Eventually, Fiji were bowled out for 149 in the 43rd over, with Vuniwaqa the last man out for a 123-ball 80, containing eight fours and two sixes. Seamers McCreath and Cameron Sloman finished with three wickets apiece.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo