Masood's ton goes in vain as West Indies qualify for semi-finals

West Indies 229-5 (Imlach 54) beat
Pakistan 227-6 (Masood 113) by five wickets
Quarter-final, ICC U-19 World Cup, Fatullah

A flamboyant century from Umair Masood went in vain as West Indies, guided by fifties from Tevin Imlach and Shimron Hetmyer, romped home to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.

Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. The Pakistan top-order failed to justify the decision as they were reduced to 21 for three in 5.4 overs with all the top three batsmen getting out in single digits.

Pakistan slipped further when Saif Badar (10) and Hasan Mohsin (19) failed to convert their starts and were dismissed leaving the team struggling at 57 for five after 21 overs.

Masood (113) and Salman Fayyaz (58 not out) joined hands to post a fantastic 164-run stand for the sixth wicket to stage a fantastic recovery.

Masood brought up his fifty in 76 balls and accelerated after reaching his fifty to complete a 106-ball hundred.

Fayyaz proved a handy partner at the other and as he brought up his half-century in 72 balls. Eventually, Pakistan posted 227 for six from their 50 overs.

In a tricky chase, West Indies got off to a good start with the openers Gidron Pope (25) and Imlach (54) posting a 45-run stand in 6.2 overs.

Pope chipped a catch to point off Ahmad Shafiq (1-35) in the seventh over, bringing Hetmyer (52) to the crease. The West Indies skipper joined hands with Imlach to add 77-runs for the second wicket, putting the chase right on track.

Hetmyer completed a 39-ball fifty but fell in the next over. West Indies were in a spot of bother as five overs later, Keacy Carty (7) and Imlach were run out in quick succession.

Shamar Springer’s (37) run-a-ball knock along with handy innings from Jyd Goolie (26 not out) and Keemo Paul (24 not out) ensured a five-wicket win as West Indies booked a place in the semi-finals against Bangladesh. Masood was picked as the man of the match.

In the ninth place play-off semi-finals, Scotland completed an easy win against Fiji while South Africa were blown away by a superlative bowling performance from Zimbabwe to advance further in the competition.

Scotland 225 (McCreath 60) beat
Fiji 149 (Vuniwaqa 80) by 76 runs
Ninth place play-off semi-final, Cox’s Bazar, ICC U-19 World Cup

Fiji won the toss and asked Scotland to bat first. Scotland lost two quick wickets at the top but Owais Shah (39) and Ben Wilkinson (20) staged a recovery with a 47-run stand. It was Finlay McCreath’s (60) 82-ball knock which held the Scotland’s innings together.

Fiji managed to strike at regular intervals but McCreath managed to string together a succession of small partnerships to boost the score to 212 for eight at the time of his dismissal. Scotland were eventually bowled out for 225.

Fiji were plagued by early wickets yet again as they lost half their side with just 43 runs on the board in 15 overs.

Peni Vuniwaqa (80) provided some respite with his 123-ball knock. However, Vuniwaqa simply ran out of partners as Cameron Sloman (3-30) and McCreath (3-48) ran through the batting line up with three-wicket hauls.

Vuniwaqa was the last man to be dismissed as Fiji were bundled out for 149 runs, giving Scotland a 76-run win. McCreath was the man of the match for his all-round efforts.

Zimbabwe 94-2 (Ives 34 no) beat
South Africa 91 (Ngarava 4-10) by eight wickets
Ninth place play-off semi-final, Cox’s Bazar, ICC U-19 World Cup

Zimbabwe opted to field first after winning the toss and reaped rewards as they rattled South Africa, reducing them to 12 for four in nine overs.

Richard Ngarava (4-10) took a four wicket haul to break the back of the South African batting line up while the rest of the bowlers shared six wickets to bowl South Africa for 91 in 39.5 overs.

Rivaldo Moonsamy (32), Luke Philander (15) and Sean Whitehead (14) were the only batsmen who managed to cross double figures.

The Zimbabwe openers added 30 runs before being dismissed in quick succession. However, Ryan Murray (26 not out) and Jeremy Ives (34 not out) put on an unbeaten 52-run stand for the third wicket to make short work of the 92-run target by chasing it down in just 22 overs.

Zimbabwe comprehensively defeated South Africa by eight wickets with 168 balls still left in the match. Ngarava was the man of the match for his four wickets.

© Cricket World 2016