LIVE –http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 U-19 reach 296 at expense of 3 wickets
Aided by half-centuries from Sami Aslam, Imam-ul-Haq, and Umar Waheed, the Pakistan Under-19s succeeded in posting a formidable total of 296 on the board by the end of their innings during the first semi-final of the ongoing Asian Cricket Council Under-19s Asia Cup, being played today on June 28 at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur.
Pakistan finished top of the Group A table, having won all of the three matches they played, while Afghanistan were second from the top in the Group B table, with 2 out of 3 wins to their credit. The winner of today’s match will qualify for the final of the tournament, due to be played against the winner of the 2nd semi-final (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 Under-19s) on July 1st.
Pakistan won the toss in today’s match, and skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Babar-Azam-c1122 elected to bat first. He went on to open the innings with Sami Aslam (77), and contributed 33 to the 69-run opening stand.
The partnership came to an end in the 15th over, with the dismissal of the captain at hands of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aftab-Alam-c945 in the 29th over – Aslam pulled it high in the air, only to have it caught by Hashmatullah Shaidi at deep backward square leg.
He was succeeded to the crease by Umar Waheed, who scored an unbeaten 77 off 69, registering the best strike rate of the innings (111.59), and setting up a 71-run stand with Imam-ul-Haq. The latter was bowled out in the 40th over by Sharafudin, with the team at 216 for 3, but http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Nawaz-c77155 picked up seamlessly where his predecessor had left off, contributing 30* off 30 to a quick unbeaten 80-run partnership with Umar Waheed.
Their contributions propelled their side to 296 by the end of 50 overs, at the expense of just 3 wickets, and with only Aftab Alam, Sharafudin, and Shabir Noori having managed to pick up one wicket each, Afghanistan’s batting performance will need to be comparatively better if they are to successfully chase down the target of 297.
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