SHARJAH: Former two-time champions Pakistan and defending champions India are heading for a rematch in the ICC U-19 World Cup when the traditional rivals will feature in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Sami Aslam-led team take on Sri Lanka at Pakistan’s happy hunting ground — Sharjah Cricket Stadium — while Vijay Zol’s India square off against 1998 winners England at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

If Pakistan and India win their respective matches, they will lock horns in the first semi-final to be played on Monday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Also on Saturday, Bangladesh take on Canada and Namibia meet Zimbabwe in the Plate Championship matches in Abu Dhabi.

On Sunday, Afghanistan meet South Africa and Australia lock horns with the West Indies in the remaining two quarter-finals, while in the Plate Championship matches in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates face Scotland and New Zealand test Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Pakistan, who won the tournament in 2004 and 2006 when the showpiece was staged in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, suffered a defeat against India in the opener but recovered to beat PNG and Scotland by identical margin of 145 runs.

In contrast, Sri Lanka opened the tournament with a 49-run victory over New Zealand, then held their nerve to beat England by one wicket before romping home by eight wickets against the UAE.

Pakistan’s Imam-ul-Haq is the tournament’s leading scorer to date with 260 runs under his belt, while his fellow opener and captain Sami is the other prominent scorer with 129. The two openers have provided their side two century stands. In bowling, Karamat Ali has bagged seven wickets while Zafar Gohar has taken six wickets.

In contrast, Sri Lankan openers Sadeera Samarawickrama and Hashan Dumindu have excelled. Samarawickrama has scored 156 runs while Dumindu has aggregated 147 and both the batsmen have centuries against their names. Fast bowler Anuk Fernando with seven wickets is Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler, followed by Binura Fernando, who has picked up six wickets.

On a head-to-head in U-19 World Cup, Pakistan lead Sri Lanka 3-1. The two sides last met in the 2010 event in Lincoln, New Zealand, where Pakistan won by five runs.

Sami, looking ahead to Saturday’s match, said that his team had made good preparation for the event and played in three tournaments in the lead-up to the World Cup and came in the UAE with a lot of confidence.

“We lost the first match [against India], but I think it was just a bad day as then we defeated Scotland and PNG by huge margins. So, I think the whole team is raring to go and will enter the quarter-final with a lot of confidence,” the Pakistan captain said.

“Sri Lanka have been playing well so far, they have beaten England, New Zealand and the UAE. So, I think it will be a good game, and we will try to give our cent per cent,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis said they had also been practising well and won all three matches and their morale is high.

“Pakistan are a good team, they have a good top-order line-up, including the captain [Sami]. However, we have got confidence after beating England and New Zealand as both are very good sides,” Mendis stated.—Agencies