Under-19 World Cup – Mehran Mumtaz, Awais Ali put Pakistan in fifth-place playoff as Ariful ton goes in vain

February 1, 2022 c_admin Cricket News Comments Off on Under-19 World Cup – Mehran Mumtaz, Awais Ali put Pakistan in fifth-place playoff as Ariful ton goes in vain

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West Indies ride on Bishop, Wickham hundreds to beat Zimbabwe; bowlers help UAE pip Ireland

Pakistan 176 for 4 (Haseebullah 79, Shehzad 36, Rakibul 2-28) beat Bangladesh 175 (Ariful 100, Mumtaz 3-16, Awais 3-52) by six wickets

Three wickets apiece for Mehran Mumtaz and Awais Ali helped Pakistan get the better of Bangladesh and seal a place in the fifth-place playoff match against Sri Lanka at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup. Left-arm spinner Mumtaz took 3 for 16 while seam bowler Awais finished with 3 for 52 to bowl Bangladesh out for 175. After that, a 76-run opening stand between Haseebullah Khan and Muhammad Shehzad set the base for an eventual six-wicket win.
A run out and two Awais scalps reduced Bangladesh to 23 for 3 early, and if it wasn’t for No. 5 Ariful Islam’s 100 in 119 balls, Pakistan’s target could have been smaller. He hit five fours and four sixes but found little support with the second-highest score being 25 and eight of Bangladesh’s batters getting dismissed in single digits. Ariful was the majority contributor in two half-century stands, first with opener Iftakher Hossain and then with No. 10 Ripon Mondol, before Mumtaz ran through the tail with his three wickets.

Haseebullah crunched four fours and four sixes in his 79 to secure a comfortable win for Pakistan. Together with Shehzad, he gave Pakistan a positive start, and when the first wicket fell, the No. 3 Irfan Khan (24) and No. 4 Abdul Faseeh (22*) made useful contributions too. Faseeh had No. 6 Abbas Ali for company when Pakistan sealed the win in the 47th over.

United Arab Emirates 128 for 2 (Smith 49, Mehra 48, Forbes 1-32) beat Ireland 122 (Dickson 40, Giyanani 2-12, Parashar 2-15) by eight wickets

Two days after defeating hosts West Indies, United Arab Emirates team pulled off another big win, this time defeating Full Member nation Ireland to win the Plate competition and finish ninth in the 16-team event.

UAE’s bowlers were the main reason behind their eight-wicket demolition of Ireland. Left-arm spinner Jash Giyanani (2 for 12) gave the early breakthrough, legspinner Adhitya Shetty (2 for 33) troubled Ireland through the middle overs and Dhruv Parashar took 2 for 15. Parashar also picked up the wicket of opener Josh Dickson, who made 40 out of Ireland’s total of 122.

UAE’s batters then showed no concerns in tackling the same Port-of-Spain pitch, with opener Kai Smith (49) and No. 3 Punya Mehra (48*) hitting 12 fours and a six between them. The game ended with Mehra hitting a six and UAE chased their target down with 24 overs to spare.

West Indies 262 for 2 (Bishop 112*, Wickham 104, B Bennett 1-31) beat Zimbabwe 256 for 4 (D Bennett 77*, B Bennett 62, Mitchell 42*, Layne 2-44) by eight wickets

It was a day out for the batters in the match to decide 11th place, with centuries from two West Indies batters sealing victory in Diego Martin over Zimbabwe.
In a chase of 257, opener Teddy Bishop crunched an unbeaten 121-ball 112 and No. 3 Kevin Wickham made 104 in 116 balls for West Indies. Their 194-run second-wicket stand would have helped calm the team down after they lost opener Matthew Nandu in the second over of the chase. West Indies eventually won with four balls to spare, with No. 4 Rivaldo Clarke hitting the winning six.

Zimbabwe rode on half-centuries from brothers David Bennett and Brian Bennett to post 256 for 4. David hit an unbeaten 77 from No. 5 and Brian made 62 from No. 4, and they put on 102 for the fourth wicket. Their stand helped Zimbabwe recover after Johann Layne’s new-ball burst had reduced the side to 25 for 2. Zimbabwe were only 168 for 3 at the 40-over mark, but late hitting from Conor Mitchell, who scored an unbeaten 42 in 26 balls, helped Zimbabwe finish with a 250-plus score.

Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx