The third Super League Quarterfinal of the ICC U19 World Cup 2022 saw Australia dominate Pakistan at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on January 28. The team from Down Under defeated their Asian rivals by a huge margin of 119 runs to progress further into the tournament.
Having lost the toss and put into bat first, Australia posted a more than competitive total of 276/7 in their allotted 50 overs. This, thanks largely to their top-order batters – Campbell Kellaway (47), Teague Wyllie (71), Corey Miller (64) and Cooper Connolly (33) – who ensured their team made it past the 270-mark.
Pakistan captain Qasim Akram was the pick of the bowlers with figures of three for 40 off his 10. But the rest of the attack, bar maybe Mehran Mumtaz (1/42), wasn’t up to the mark against some solid Australian batting.
It all went downhill for Pakistan U19s in the run-chase, as they crumbled under the pressure of the total and the knock-out fixture to be just 157 all out. They had only three of their batters – Abdul Faseeh (28), Irfan Khan (27) and Mumtaz (29) – making it past 20 and collectively failed to bat more than 35.1 overs.
Australian bowlers were on the money throughout the second half of the game. They managed to put Pakistan batters under extreme pressure and built inroads. William Salzmann was their star of the show with figures of three for 37. But Tom Whitney (2/31) and Jack Sinfield (2/34) weren’t to be left behind, as they took two wickets apiece.
Australia beat Pakistan in the quarterfinal to book a place in the second semi-final of the U19 World Cup 💥
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 29, 2022
Who do you think will face Australia in the semi-final? 🤔
🇮🇳 or 🇧🇩#U19CWC #U19WorldCup pic.twitter.com/fs2xW970pB
Defeat for Pakistan meant they crashed out of the Super League and can’t any longer fight for the tournament title, while victory has allowed Australia to seal a place in the Super League Semifinal on February 2.
In the other fixture of the day, United Arabic Emirates pulled off a major surprise at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, winning over hosts and more experienced West Indies by a whopping 82-run margin. In what happens to be the tournament’s biggest upset, the Asian associate member defeated their Caribbean Test counterparts after posting a less-than-ideal 224/9 on the board.
UAE could have easily finished with a score much less if not for the excellent saviour act played by Afzal Khan, who struck a measured 93 off 121 balls when his team found itself 76/6 and staring down the barrel. The player found an able partner in Shival Bawa (51), who also made an important half-century. The duo helped their team recover from troubled waters and post a half-decent score on the board.
UAE also found two bowling heroes on the day, with Jash Giyanani (3/21) and Dhruv Parashar (4/30) sharing seven wickets between them. The rest of the support cast also kept things tight, which triggered a collapse in the West Indies batting unit. The hosts were dismissed for just 142 in less than 40 overs in one of UAE cricket’s biggest triumphs.
A commendable fight in the end from Edwards and Thorne but WI just didn't get over the line 😔
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) January 28, 2022
Congrats to the UAE U19s 👏🏽#U19CWC #RisingStars pic.twitter.com/chk7uDYDCn
West Indies had only two real positives for the day in pacer Shiva Sankar (3/31) and lower-order bat Nathan Edwards (51).
In an Uganda-Papua New Guniea encounter played for the 13th Place Playoff Semifinal 1, Uganda came out on top by 35 runs despite posting a total of 123 on the board. As was the case throughout the competition, PNG’s batting was their major problem, as they failed to chase in what should’ve been a straightforward second half.
Uganda had most of their batters struggling, too, but thanks to Cyrus Kakuru’s (65) lone-warrior performance, they managed to reach over the 100-run mark. Later, Juma Miyaji (4/29), Joseph Baguma (3/30) and Matthew Musinguzi (2/29) ran through the opposition batting line-up for them.
