18 February 2004	Wednesday	26 Zilhaj 1424

DHAKA, Feb 17: Pakistan have all but secured a place in the Super League of the ICC Under-19 World Cup with a crushing eight-win victory against Ireland on Tuesday.

Leg-spinner Mansoor Amjad led the way with four for 28 as the Irish were restricted to 142 all out after being asked to bat first in front of over 4,000 people in the Group 'D' fixture at the Khulna Divisional Stadium.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, watched his young compatriots then knocked off the runs in 25.2 overs with skipper Khalid Latif hitting eight fours and two sixes in making 50 off 45 balls. Fellow opener Adnan Zaheer compiled an unbeaten 64 off 75 deliveries that included 10 fours and one six.

Pakistan now need to beat the West Indies in their last pool match on Thursday to make it to the second round. Hosts Bangladesh, meanwhile, collected their first points in Group 'C' in an emphatic style, as Scotland were thrashed by nine wickets at the newly constructed Fatullah Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium in Dhaka.

Sri Lanka's Chamith Kulasekera claimed his second Man-of-the-Match award in the nine-wicket trouncing of Canada at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium. He captured five for 27 as the North American side crumbled to 81 all out in the Group 'A' match.

England, on the other hand, recorded the biggest win of the day by hammering Uganda by 213 runs in Group 'B' at Chittagong's M.A. Aziz Stadium with Tim Bresnan and David Stiff returning identical figures of four for seven as the Africans were bundled out for 46.

Scoreboard

IRELAND:

W. Porterfield c Riaz b Salman 29

G. Wilson lbw b Mansoor 23

E.J.G. Morgan c Fawad b Jahangir 12

K. O'Brien lbw Mansoor 6

S. Wells b Salman 1

A. Riddles not out 35

P. Blakeney b Ali Imran 2

R.J. Rankin lbw b Tariq 5

G. McKee st Zulqarnain b Mansoor 6

G. Kidd c Khalid b Mansoor 0

G. Thompson c Jahangir b Tariq 3

EXTRAS (LB-8, W-10, NB-2) 20

TOTAL (all out, 47.5 overs) 142

FALL OF WKTS: 1-54, 2-60, 3-75, 4-76, 5-93, 6-99, 7-106, 8-137, 9-137.

BOWLING: Riaz Afridi 7-2-25-0 (2w); Ali Imran 9-0-30-1 (1nb, 3w); Salman Qadir 10-2-26-2; Mansoor Amjad 10-0-28-4 (1nb, 2w); Jahangir Mirza 3-1-4-1; Tariq Mahmood 8.5-1-21-2 (3w).

PAKISTAN:

Khalid Latif c Wells b Morgan 50

Adnan Zaheer not out 64

Jahangir Mirza c Porterfield b Kidd 8

Usman Saeed not out 8

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-1, W-12, NB-1) 16

TOTAL (for two wkts, 25.2 overs) 146

FALL OF WKTS: 1-89, 2-109.

DID NOT BAT: Fawad Alam, Salman Qadir, Zulqarnain Haider, Tariq Mahmood, Mansoor Amjad, Riaz Afridi, Ali Imran.

BOWLING: O'Brien 5-0-33-0 (2w); Riddles 5-1-17-0; McKee 2-0-10-0 (2w); Thompson 2-0-28-0; Kidd 7.2-2-29-1 (1w); Morgan 4-0-26-1 (1nb, 4w).

RESULT: Pakistan won by eight wickets.

UMPIRES: J.W. Lloyds (England) Showkatur Rahman (Bangladesh).

MATCH REFEREE: J.F.M. Morrison (New Zealand).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mansoor Amjad.

Results of other matches:

At Fatullah Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium, Dhaka: Bangladesh beat Scotland by nine wickets.

SCOTLAND 95 in 30.2 overs (K.J. Coetzer 42; Enamul Haque Jr 4-21, Shahadat Hossain 3-27, Rubaiyat Huq 2-27);

BANGLADESH 96-1 in 12.2 overs (Naeem Islam 49 not out, Nafis Iqbal 39 not out).

At M.A. Aziz Stadium, Chittagong: England beat Uganda by 213 runs.

ENGLAND 259-7 in 50 overs (L.J. Wright 70, S.R. Patel 55, J.C. Hildreth 38, A.N. Cook 27; D. Arinaitwe 3-53);

UGANDA 46 in 30.4 overs (T.T. Brsnan 4-7, D.A. Stiff 4-7, M.A.K. Lawson 2-13).

At Rajshahi Divisional Stadium: Sri Lanka beat Canada by nine wickets.

CANADA 81 in 31.1 overs (T. Bastiampillai 20; C.K.B. Kulasekera 5-27, M.M.M. Suraj 2-6, M.F. Maharoof 2-20);

SR LANKA 84-1 in 16 overs (H.E. Vithana 52 not out).

Wednesday's fixtures: Australia v Zimbabwe (Bogra District Stadium); South Africa v Nepal (Chittagong Divisional Stadium); India v New Zealand (Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka); West Indies v Papua New Guinea (Khulna Divisional Stadium). -Agencies