Benoni, South Africa
Pakistani teenagers defeated the Afghanistan U-19 team by 6 wickets in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup on Friday, advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament in Benoni, South Africa.
The Pakistan U-19 batsmen easily chased down a target of 189 runs in the 41st over, with 53 balls still remaining.
A half-century on debut from 17-year-old opener from Sialkot, Mohammad Huraira, was instrumental in the victory, as he top-scored with 64 runs off 76 balls, while his fellow opener Haider Ali scoring 28 runs off 34 deliveries.
Mohammad Haris remained not-out on 29 off 43 balls, taking the side over the finishing line.
Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad was the only bowler who managed to take any wickets, finishing with 2 for 32.
Earlier, Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir Khan took 3 wickets for 58 while leg-spinner Fahad Munir took 2 for 29 to dismiss the Afghan batting line-up in 49 overs.
Qasim Akram, Abbas Afridi, Tahir Hussain and Aamir Ali took a wicket each. Afghanistan captain Farhan Zakhil scored 40 runs with the bat, while Abdul Rahman scored 30, helping the side set a 189-run target.
But the Pakistani batsmen were able to easily chase down the target with 53 balls and six wickets to spare.
Huraira was named man-of-the-match for his match-winning knock. Following the quarter-final victory, Pakistan will now face India in the first Super League semi-final at Potchefstroom on February 4.
Afghanistan left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad ran out Pakistan opener Mohammad Huraira at the non-striker’s end in the fourth Super League quarter-final at the Under-19 World Cup, whipping the bails off in his delivery stride with the opener having left his crease.
On-field umpire Sam Nogajski referred the matter to Roly Black, the third umpire, and replays confirmed Huraira was out of his crease when Ahmad broke the stumps. Huraira, who was making his Youth ODI debut, was run out for a 76-ball 64. His wicket left Pakistan 127 for 4, but they were still comfortably placed, needing a further 63 runs to win in 134 balls. Afghanistan had earlier been bowled out for 189. Pakistan eventually won by six wickets in 41.1 overs.
This is not the first time such a dismissal has been effected in an Under-19 World Cup, with West Indies’ Keemo Paul having run out Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava in similar fashion in the 2016 edition in Bangladesh, giving West Indies a thrilling win by two runs.
According to the MCC’s Law 41.16, which was revised in 2017, “if the non-striker is out of his/her ground at any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out.” The non-striker would be run out “whether or not the ball is subsequently delivered”.—Agencies
