CHRISTCHURCH: Akash Gill scored Canada’s first-ever century in the ICC Under-19 Word Cup as North American side and Zimbabwe progressed to Plate Championship semi-finals here on Monday.

All-rounder Gill became the 13th player to notch a century in the 12th edition of the tournament as Canada easily defeated Papua New Guinea by 80 runs.

Gill cracked 12 fours and two sixes as Canada notched a competitive 265 for eight after being asked to bat first at the Lincoln 3. Skipper Arslan Khan and Ashtan Deosammy scored 35 apiece before fast bowler Faisal Jamkhandi and left-arm spinner Aran Pathmanathan grabbed three wickets each to send Papua New Guinea crashing to 185 all out in 44.3 overs.

Opener Simon Atai (81) fought a lone battle for the losing team.

Man-of-the-match Gill later said: “I didn’t really know about that record [first Canada batsman to score a century in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup], but it’s honestly a great feeling. When I got to that milestone, I was just overwhelmed. It still feels surreal to me, I’m just letting it sink in.”

Zimbabwe wrapped a seven-wicket victory in their quarter-final against Namibia at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

Wessely Madevere’s all-round effort of 47 and two for 11 made it relatively comfortable for the Zimbabweans.

Set a target of just 114, Zimbabwe got home in only 19.3 overs.

Meanwhile, the Super League, featuring the top two sides from each preliminary group, commences from Tuesday with the traditional rivals Australia and England playing the first quarter-final in Queenstown.

Australia and England exuded confidence as they trained ahead of their match. while three-time champions Australia found rhythm in the tournament after losing their opening match to India by 100 runs,e England advanced winning all their three league matches.

The other Super League quarter-finals will be played between Pakistan and South Africa on Wednesday, Afghanistan and New Zealand on Thursday and India and Bangladesh on Friday.

Monday’s results:

Plate Championship:

Quarter-finals:

At Lincoln 3, Christchurch: Canada beat Papua New Guinea by 80 runs.

CANADA 265-8 in 50 overs (A.S. Gill 120, Arslan Khan 35; A. Deosammy 35, A. Pathmanathan 23; J.J. Tau 2-31, L. Morea 2-69); PAPUA NEW GUINEA 185 in 44.3 overs (S.K. Atai 81; A. Pathmanathan 3-23, Faisal Jamkhandi 3-48, P.C. Pretorius 2-38).

At Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Christchurch: Zimbabwe beat Namibia by seven wickets.

NAMIBIA 113 in 40.1 overs (E. van Wyk 24; N. Nungu 2-11, W. Madevere 2-11, D.J. Myers 2-29); ZIMBABWE 114-3 in 19.3 overs (W. Madevere 47, A.R. Frost 30 not out).Tuesday’s fixtures:

Super League quarter-final: Australia vs England (John Davies Oval, Queenstown).

Plate Championship quarter-finals: Kenya vs Sri Lanka (Lincoln 3, Christchurch); Ireland vs West Indies (Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Christchurch).

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018