DUBAI: Pakistan sealed a spot in the U-19 Asia Cup semi-finals after beating Afghanistan by 83 runs at the ICC Academy Ground on Tuesday. It was the Saad Baig-led side’s third consecutive victory in a row as they cruised past Nepal and India in their opening two matches.

Pakistan rode on half-centuries by openers Shamyl Hussain and Shahzaib Khan and Mohammad Riazullah to post 303 before Ubaid Shah and Tayyab Arif proved key in bundling Afghanistan out for 220.

Shamyl and Shahzaib stitched a masterful partnership that yielded 115 runs. Shamyl took charge from the get-go, hitting 75 from 54 and showcasing seven boundaries and five maximums, to put pressure on the opposition.

Afghanistan captain Naseer Khan Maroofkhil trapped Shamyl lbw to break the partnership. He struck again soon after to take Tayyab out the same way.

At the halfway mark, Pakistan were 154-2 with Shahzaib and Riazullah on the crease. The two batted together to add 76 runs more to the total.

Shahzaib was the next batter to walk back to the pavilion, when he was caught off Faridoon Dawoodzai’s bowling after scoring 79 from 95, including nine fours and a six.

In his subsequent over, Dawoodzai also removed Arafat Minhas. Shortly after, right-arm pacer Khalel Ahmed struck on two consecutive deliveries to dismiss Saad and Mohammad Zeeshan.

Azan Awais, who hit an unbeaten century in the previous game, joined Riazullah on the crease. He scored 20 from 19, including three boundaries, before he fell to Dawoodzai for the latter’s third wicket of the day.

Riazullah was the third Pakistan batter to get a fifty (73 off 69, five fours and two sixes) in the innings, ensuring that the team were in a position to put up a solid total, before he got out to left-arm seamer Bashir Ahmad in the 46th over. He took two more wickets in his next over to bowl out Pakistan in 48 overs.

Right-arm fast Khubaib Khalil, playing his first game of the tournament, landed an early blow on Afghanistan as he took out Khalid Taniwal in just the fourth over.

His fellow quick, Ubaid, struck on the third ball of his spell to remove Jamshid Zadran. On the last delivery of the following over, Wafiullah Tarakhil (32 off 34, six fours) fell victim to Khubaib, after hitting four boundaries on the trot. Afghanistan were reduced to 52-3 at the end of the first powerplay.

Ubaid inflicted further damage on the Afghanistan batting when he rattled the stumps to send Sohil Khan back to the pavilion. Numan Shah was the top-scorer for Afghanistan, hitting a fighting half-century (54 off 78, four fours and a six) to keep his team alive in the game. He eventually fell to Ubaid, who completed a three-wicket haul.

Maroofkhil also chipped in with 26 from 61 including a boundary, before he was caught off Tayyab’s bowling. Two subsequent batters, Allah Ghazanfar and Khaleel Ahmed, also fell to Tayyab shortly after.

Shamyl picked up the last wicket as Dawoodzai (32 off 41, two fours and a six) was caught by Shahzaib to end the Afghanistan batting, awarding Pakistan a victory by 83 runs.

Scores in brief:

PAKISTAN 303 in 48 overs (Shahzaib Khan 79, Shamyl Hussain 75, Riazullah Khan 73; Faridoon Dawoodzai 3-49, Bashir Ahmad 3-51, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil 2-44, Khalel Ahmad 2-69); AFGHANISTAN 220 in 48.4 overs (Numan Shah 54, Faridoon Dawoodzai 32, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil 26; Ubaid Shah 3-19, Tayyab Arif 3-51, Khubaib Khalil 2-45, Shamyl Hussain 1-8, Amir Hassan 1-29).

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2023