My fifth day's report on Asian Cricket Council website: India and Pakistan register hard-fought victories to reach semifinals

By K.R. Nayar

India and Pakistan registered hard-fought victories on the fifth day of the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup at the ICC grounds to book their places in the semifinal. India pulled off a four-wicket victory after overcoming a strong challenge from Afghanistan with just ten balls to spare. Pakistan extended their unbeaten run to stop host UAE’s challenge by 21 runs and finish at the top of the group. They will now take on the loser of the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka match on December 30 at the ICC Academy in the semifinal while India will meet the winner of that match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on the same day.

India hold their nerves to down Afghanistan 

Stubborn knocks from openers Harnoor Singh (64) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (35) and unbeaten knocks from Rajangad Bawa (43n.o) and Kaushal Tambe (35n.o) under tremendous pressure ensured India a hard-fought four-wicket win over Afghanistan with ten balls to spare. It was a nerve-wrecking chase for India towards the target after Afghanistan had posted a challenging 259 for 4 through Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai’s breezy 86 studded with seven sixers and one boundary off 68 balls. Afghanistan skipper  Suliman Safi too chipped in with a knock of 73.

Afghanistan and India captains before the toss. Photo: ACC

India, after getting off to a good start through an opening partnership of 104 between Singh and Raghuvanshi, slipped to the bowling of left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad Lakanwal (4 for 43) before Bawa and Tambe took them to target.

 India had won the toss and elected to field. Afghanistan openers Suliman Arabzai and Mohammad Ishaq put on 38 runs in 10.3 overs. Arabzai, when on 18 and who was stroking well, was the first to go.  He fell to Rajangad Bawa who was introduced in the ninth over. Medium pacer Bawa was carrying the confidence from his four wicket spell against Pakistan in the previous match.

Afghanistan lost their second wicket at the score on 63 when opener Ishaq fell to left arm spinner Vicky Ostwal caught by Ravi Kumar for 19. Allah Noor Naseri, who had cracked a century against UAE in the previous match, began stroking fluently along with his skipper Suliman Safi. At the half way mark, Afghanistan were 83 for 2. 

Kaushal Tambe receives the Player of the Match award. Photo: ACC

Off spinner Kaushal Tambe took the prize wicket of Noor by having him caught by Shaik Rasheed for 26. Noor and Safi had added 38 runs for the third wicket. Safi then kept the runs flowing along with Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai and reached his half century in 68 balls.

 Ahmadzai went for the big shots and hit Ravi Kumar for a six in the 43^rd over. He also hit Bawa for another six in the 45^th over. Rajvardhan Hangargekar ended Safi’s fine knock by having him caught by Angkrish Raghuvanshi.  Safi’s knock of 73 off 86 balls had seven boundaries and a six. Ahmadzai hit Bawa for yet another six in the 47^th over to reach his half century in 56 balls. He went on to add an unbeaten 70 runs partnership in 30 balls with Khaiber Wali (20n.o). Safi returned to the pavilion applauded all the way for his unbeaten 86 off 61 balls with seven sixes and one boundary that ensured Afghanistan a total of 259 for 4 in 50 overs.

Indian openers Harnoor Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi provided a confident start by recording a 50 runs partnership in eight overs. In- form Singh, with knocks of 120 against UAE and 46 against Pakistan, began stroking freely. Raghuvanshi who had failed in the first two matches with single digit scores, batted confidently.

 In the 14^th over, Afghanistan introduced their strike bowler and 16-year-old left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad Lakanwal. The Indian openers initially tackled Lakanwal as well as leg spinner Izharulhaq Naveed carefully. Singh reached his half century in 49 balls and the pair recorded their 100 runs partnership in the 17^th over. Lakanwal struck in his third over to trap Raghuvanshi leg before for 36 and end the 104 runs partnership. He also trapped Singh leg before for 64. His knock off 72 ball contained nine boundaries.

India squandered the advantage of a good start when Shaik Rasheed too fell leg before to pacer Bilal Sami for six runs.  At the half way mark, India were 137 for 3. India’s skipper Yash Dhull and Nishant Sindhu then added 46 runs for fourth wicket but pacer Khalel Ahmed Khalel had Sindhu caught by Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai for 19.

 Dhull was joined by Rajangad Bawa , and together they added another 21 runs. At the score on 185, Lakanwal provided a vital blow by having Dhull stumped by wicketkeeper Mohammad Ishaq for 26. Lakanwal then went on to trap Aaradhya Yadav leg before for 12. With 30 runs needed off the last five overs and only four wickets in hand, it was a sheer test of nerves.

 Luckily for India, Lakanwal finished his quota of overs and Bawa kept going along with Tambe, refusing to crack under pressure. They put on an unbeaten 65 runs partnership in 64 balls to carry the team to the target. Bawa remained unbeaten on 43 off 55 balls with two boundaries, well backed by Tambe with an unconquered 35 off 29 balls with four boundaries.

Player of the match Kaushal Tambe said that he had played his role to perfection. “I had to hold my nerves as I knew I was the last of the recognized batsmen. I decided to stay on till the end providing good support to Rajangad Bawa. I am happy that I played the role expected off me and ensured that my team  reach the semifinal.”

Indian skipper Yash Dhull said that staying positive has won this match for his team “After we had lost to Pakistan we came up with a plan to stay positive. This victory is the result of that attitude. Even though we were under pressure we told ourselves to play positively and all credit goes to full team. Everyone chipped in with useful partnerships and refused to crack under pressure. We will carry this positive attitude to the semifinal too.”

 Afghanistan skipper Suliman Safi feels that if his pacers had bowled well they could have won the match. “Though our spinners bowled excellently, our pacers did not rise to the challenge. We allowed the Indian openers to have a huge partnership. We fought and got back into the game but some close calls also went against us; but we played a good game.”

 Brief scores:

India Under-19 bt Afghanistan Under-19 by 4 wkts.
Afghanistan Under-19: 259 for 4 in 50 overs (Allah Noor Naseri 26, Suliman Safi 73, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai 86n.o, Khaiber Wali 20n.o) India Under-19: 262 for 6 in 48.2 overs (Harnoor Singh 65, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 35, Rajangad Bawa 43n.o, Kaushal Tambe 35n.o, Noor Ahmad Lakanwal 4 for 43)
Player of the match: Kaushal Tambe

Pakistan skipper Qasim Akram’s show sinks UAE’s hopes 

 Pakistan skipper Qasim Akram’s allround performance scuttled UAE’s hope of producing a shock result. UAE restricted Pakistan to 219 for 8 and put on a valiant chase but fell short of the target by 21 runs at the ICC Cricket Academy Ground 1. Akram shattered UAE’s plans cracking a fighting half century and then picking three wickets for 52 at a crucial stage of the game.  

UAE and Pakistan captains before the toss. Photo: ACC

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. Though their openers Abdul Wahid and Maaz Ahmad Sadaqat put on a 33 runs partnership, they lost three quick wickets. Sadaqat fell for 15, caught behind by wicketkeeper Kai Smith off Ali Naseer for 15. His opening partner Wahid too followed caught by Shival Bawa off Dhruv Parashar for 28. Left-arm spinner Nilansh Keswani dismissed Abdul Faseeh by having him stumped by Smith for a duck.

In walked Muhammad Shehzad, the hero of Pakistan’s victory over India through his knock of 81, and went for his strokes. He was joined by his skipper Akram and they steered Pakistan past the 100 run mark in the 32^nd over.

UAE’s left-arm spinner Jash Giyanani ended the 54 runs partnership between Shehzad and Akram by having Shehzad caught behind for 29. Akram reached his half century in 66 balls, but fell after playing one more delivery offering a catch to Bawa off Keswani. His 50 was made up of five boundaries. 

Pakistan went past the 150 runs in the 41^stover with Haseebullah Khan and Mohammad Irfan Khan wanting to score briskly.  UAE off spinner Aayan Afzal Khan rose to the challenge and struck repeatedly. He had Irfan Khan caught by Ali Naseer for 11 and then ended Haseebullah’s knock of 39 by having him caught and bowled. Aayan also dismissed Mehran Mumtaz, caught by Keswani for a duck.

Pakistan skipper Qasim Akram receives the Player of the Match award. Photo: ACC

Pakistan’s hopes of crossing the 200 run began to fade. But once again Ahmed Khan, who hit the winning runs against India in the nail-biting battle, went on to hit a quick unbeaten 34 off 19 balls with three boundaries and a six. This helped Pakistan post 219 for 8 in 50 overs.

UAE chased the score with a new opener in Shival Bawa but he lasted only eleven deliveries to score five runs before being caught behind by wicketkeeper Haseebullah Khan off pacer Mohammad Zeeshan.  Soorya Satish, who was promoted up the batting order, joined opener Kai Smith.  The pair picked the right deliveries to hit boundaries and slowly increased the run flow and put on 59 runs for the second wicket. Left-arm spinner Mehran Mumtaz provided the breakthrough by clean bowling Satish for 22 while another left-arm spinner Maaz Sadaqat had Smith offer wicketkeeper Haseebullah Khan his second catch after scoring 38 runs. 

Mumtaz struck again to trap Dhruv Parashar leg before for 2. When Ronak Panoly too became Sadaqat’s second victim, half the UAE side was back in the pavilion for just 76 runs. Skipper Alishan Sharafu and Nilash Keswani fought strongly to lift UAE towards the target. In the 36^th  over, Sharafu hit Qasim Akram for two sixes and a boundary to take 17 runs off his over. The pair put on 52 runs for the sixth wicket to light up hopes for a victory. Then Akram removed Sharafu by having him caught by Abdul Bangalzai for 35. Sharafu’s knock off 43 balls had three sixes and one boundary. 

Aayan Afzal Khan went for his shots and even hit pacer Zeeshan for a six. Akram struck another vital blow to trap Keswani leg before for 25 in the 42^nd over. Akram also got rid of Ali Naseer for 1. Though Afzal Khan even hit Akram for a six, he fell for 38 lifting Zeeshan into the hands of Ahmad Khan at long on. His knock came off 32 balls and had two boundaries and two sixes. Towards the end, Akram and Zeeshan bowled tightly giving nothing away and restricted UAE to 198 for 9 in 50 overs.

Pakistan skipper Qasim Akram who led from the front through an allround show to bag the Player of the Match, said: “It felt good to regain my form and do well with the bat and ball. UAE put up a good fight but we ensured that we give nothing away. It is nice to reach the semifinal unbeaten and we would like to extend our form. Our bowlers as well as batsmen are doing well and that is a good sign for the coming match.”

UAE skipper Alishan Sharafu said: “We put up a decent fight. It felt good to produce such a show before we fly out for the Under-19 World Cup in West Indies. We could have pulled off a victory and looked like we would win while batting with Nilansh Keswani. I should have batted a little deep as the wicket was also flattening. We will take a lot of confidence from this match as we gave a good fight to a Test playing nation.”

 Brief scores:

Pakistan Under-19 bt UAE Under-19 by 21 runs. Pakistan Under-19:  219 for 8 in 50 overs (Abdul Wahid 28, Muhammad Shehzad 29, Qasim Akram 50, Haseebullah Khan 39, Ahmed Khan 34n.o, Aayan Afzal Khan 3 for 44,  Nilansh Keswani 2 for 32) UAE Under 19: 198 for 9 in 50 overs (Kai Smith 38, Soorya Satish 22, Alishan Sharafu 35, Nilansh Keswani 25,  Aayan Afzal Khan 38, Mohammad Zeeshan 2 for 34, Mehran Mumtaz 2 for 35, Maaz Sadaqat 2 for 21, Qasim Akram 3 for 52)
Player of the Match: Qasim Akram