Pakistan and South Africa clinched victories in the final set of playoffs in the ICC U19 World Cup 2022 on February 3 to end as fifth and seventh in the tournament, respectively.
While Pakistan defeated fellow Asian rivals Sri Lanka to bag the fifth position, South Africa overcame defending champions Bangladesh to finish seventh in the competition.
In the first match played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, Pakistan showcased their batting might and crushed Sri Lanka by a whopping 238-run margin. They posted a mammoth 365/3 in their allotted 50 overs before dismissing the opposition for only 127 runs.
Pakistan got off to an excellent start, with opening batters Muhammad Shehzad (73) and Haseebullah Khan adding 134 runs for the first wicket. Once Shehzad departed, Haseebullah was joined by skipper Qasim Akram, and the duo shared a magnificent 229 runs stand for the second wicket.
Both Haseebullah and Akram made massive hundreds. While the former batted sedately for his marathon 151-ball 136, Akram blasted his way through to an unbeaten 135 off just 80 deliveries, including 13 fours and six sixes. The assault from the two batters proved too good for even the usually incisive Sri Lankan bowling unit.
Matheesha Pathirana (2/62) and Raveen de Silva (1/33) were the only ones to enter the wicket column for them on a day when they were all taken for plenty.
In stark contrast to this, Pakistan had their skipper following his great hundred with a rare 50-over five-fer (5/37). Relishing the pressure of the asking rate that he exerted on the Lankans, Akram went on to also break the back of their batting in the second half.
Only captain Dunith Wellalage (40) and Vinuja Ranpul (53) could withstand the quality of the bowling on show for the Sri Lankans.
The next match between South Africa and Bangladesh played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua was closer than the first one. The South Africans had to toil hard in their stiff run-chase of 294 runs and reached there with only two wickets remaining.
Once again, No.3 Dewald Brevis was their stand-out performer with the bat. Brevis dominated his way at the crease for a gigantic 138 off 130 balls. He was the glue that kept the innings together, even as the rest didn’t come up with any substantial contributions.
Ronan Hermann (46) and Matthew Boast (41) were the only other noteworthy performers in the chase. But Brevis’ brilliance, combined with others, still ensured victory for their team with two wickets intact and seven balls left in the proceedings.
Bangladesh had Ripon Mondol (2/62), Musfik Hasan (2/52) and SM Meherob (2/48) taking two wickets apiece, but they needed a better allround effort on the bowling front to inch past Brevis & company in the decisive second half.
Like the second, the first half also had one batting hero and useful contributions here and there from the rest. That batting hero was Bangladesh’s No.4 Ariful Islam with a solid hundred (102 off 103 balls) that guided his team for the best part of 50 overs.
Among others, useful thirties from opener Prantik Nabil (38), wicketkeeper Md Fahim (36) and SM Meherob (36) allowed Bangladesh to close in on the 300-mark.
A score of 320-330 might well have taken the game away from South Africa. But the Proteas had Kwena Maphaka (3/53) and Liam Alder (2/39) rising to the task of ensuring they kept Bangladesh below the 300-mark.
