U19 World Cup: Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 8 wickets, advance into Super Six round

Pakistan clinched a comfortable 8-wicket victory over Zimbabwe during the team’s last group-stage match in the ongoing U19 World Cup, advancing into the Super Six round.

After facing a 37-run defeat by England in their tournament opener, the Green Shirts made a comeback, beating Scotland and Zimbabwe in back-to-back matches.

With the win, Pakistan has secured second place in the group rankings, with England on top.

As per the tournament’s format, the top three teams from the four groups will qualify for the Super Six round, where they will be divided into two groups of six teams, each playing two matches.

This means that despite the loss, Zimbabwe will also advance into the Super Six stage.

Pakistan U19 captain Farhan Yousaf had won the toss and elected to bat first in Takashinga Sports Club in Harare.

Sameer Minhas, won the player of the match, with an unbeaten 74 off 75 deliveries, including six boundaries and four sixes.

Minhas was aided by Usman Khan and Ahmed Hussain, who scored 26 and 24 runs, respectively.

Pakistan’s bowlers also maintained a strong grip over the Zimbabwean batters, with a dominating performance by Ali Raza, who took three wickets and bowled four maiden overs.

Mohammad Sayyam, Abdul Subhan, and Momin Qamar also grabbed a couple of wickets each for Pakistan.

For Zimbabwe, Nathaniel Hlabangana could only score 59 runs; no other batter could assist him in keeping the momentum and building the partnerships. Eight Zimbabwean batters could not even reach double figures.

Pakistan bowled out Zimbabwe on a score of just 128 runs in 35.5 overs.

While chasing the target, Pakistan’s batters outshone the Zimbabwean bowlers by achieving the total in the 27th over, with the fall of two wickets.