TRINIDAD: Haseebullah Khan and Awais Ali shone with the bat and the ball respectively as Pakistan U-19 got off to a flying start at the ICC U-19 World Cup, beating Zimbabwe U-19 by 115 runs in their Group ‘C’ match at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex in Trinidad on Monday.

Opener Haseebullah smashed a 155-ball 135 (10 fours and four sixes) to help Pakistan amass a strong total of 315-9 in 50 overs. He was assisted by Irfan Khan, who added 75 (six fours and one six) to the total, consuming only 73 calls as the duo partnered up for 110 runs for the third wicket.

While Zimbabwe went for a few runs more than they would have liked to, right-arm medium pacer Alex Falao stood out for them with a five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old finished with figures of 5-58 in nine overs.

Pacer Mgcini Dube was Zimbabwean’s second-best bowler, registering 3-68 in his ten overs. The Zimbabwe U-19 batters, however, failed to chip in after Falao and Dube’s commendable efforts. Brian Bennet’s 83 off 88 was the best performance with the bat for the eventual losers.

Zimbabwe U-19 were bundled up in 42.4 overs, managing only 200 runs as medium-pacer Awais took registered figures of 6-56 in 8.4 overs. Zeeshan Zameer (2-32 in nine overs) and Ahmed Khan (2-40) in seven overs were Pakistan’s second-best bowlers.

In other matches on Monday, Sri Lanka U-19 beat Australia U-19 by four wickets, while West Indies U-19 won against Scotland U-19 by seven wickets.

Pakistan U-19 face Afghanistan U-19 in their next match on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2022