U-19 World Cup: All-rounder Hasan takes Pakistan into quarter-final
Pakistan
was struggling at 96-4 after being sent in to bat on a hazy morning when Mohsin
stepped in to stem the rot with a 61-run stand for the fifth wicket with Salman
Fayyaz (33).
Mohsin,
who was on 61 at the fall of the seventh wicket, smashed 23 runs in the 47th
over bowled by seamer Asitha Fernando which included five runs for an overthrow.
Moshin
was bowled in the next over, trying to reverse sweep left-arm spinner Damitha
Silva, who finished with two wickets for 41 runs.
Thilan
Nimesh and Wanidu Hasaranga also claimed two wickets each, but ambidextrous
17-year-old Kamindu Mendis caught the eye with his rare talent to bowl both
right-arm off-breaks and left-arm spin.
Mendis
gave away 21 runs in four wicketless overs.
Mohsin,
who was later named man of the match, stung early in Sri Lanka's reply,
grabbing the first two wickets by the sixth over with his medium-pace bowling.
Sri
Lanka was reduced to 63-4 before Mendis, who bats left-handed, scored 68 and
Vishad Randika made 46 while adding 84 for the fifth wicket.
Pakistan
kept the pressure on the batsmen to clinch victory in the 47th over as leg-spinner
Shadab Khan finished with three for 31 runs. Sameen Gul, Mohsin and Ahmad
Shafiq shared six wickets between them.
Pakistan
captain Zeeshan Malik said defeating Sri Lanka had lifted the team's morale for
the quarter-final against the West Indies.
“I
think we played very good cricket today, both with the bat and ball,” he said.
“Mohsin was very good but all the bowlers did well.
“We
look forward to our quarter-final and hopefully we will go beyond that as
well.”
Sri
Lanka's captain Charith Asalanka blamed the defeat on the batsmen's inability
to string partnerships, but said his team did not fear England.
“The
batting went wrong today,” he said. “The top order batsmen couldn't score runs
and form partnerships. Mendis and Randika had a good stand but we couldn't do
our job in the end.
“England
is a good side. We played each other in December. But I think the conditions
will support us. Our spinners are in good form, so I think this will be an
advantage for us.”
Scores
in brief:
Pakistan
212 all, 48.4 overs (Hasan Mohsin 86, Salman Fayyaz 33; Damitha Silva 2-41,
Thilan Nimesh 2-38, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-30)
Sri
Lanka 189 all out, 46.4 overs (Kamindu Mendis 68, Vishad Randika 46; Shadab
Khan 3-31, Sameen Gul 2-29, Hasan Mohsin 2-28, Ahmad Shafiq 2-23)
U19 World Cup: Mohsin stars as
Pakistan cruise to win over Afghanistan
Pakistan
kicked off their 2016 Under-19 World Cup campaign with a comfortable six-wicket
win over Afghanistan at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh,
on Thursday.
Pakistan
captain Gauhar Hafeez won the toss and put Afghanistan in, a decision which
paid immediate dividends as the opposition slumped to 29/3 in 8 overs before
being bowled out for 126.
Karachi
pacer Hasan Mohsin accounted for all three batsmen at the top with his tidy
swing bowling.
Coming
in at number five, Tariq Stanikzai, 53 off 76, then mounted an Afghan comeback
of sorts but did not find support from the other batsmen as legspinner Shadab
Khan ran through the line up with astonishing figures of 5-9-4.
Stanikzai's
solid fifty ensured that Afghanistan crossed three figures.
Pakistan
stumbled briefly in the chase, losing three wickets for 81 runs but the Afghan
total was never enough to cause an upset.
Zeeshan
Malik (29), Mohammad Umar (25) and Hasan Mohsin (28) contributed to the chase
as Pakistan crossed the finish line in 31.3 overs.
Hasan
Mohsin was named player of the match for his all-round show.
U-19 World Cup a great
platform for budding players: Azhar Ali
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan ODI skipper Azhar Ali believes the International Cricket Council (ICC)
Under-19 World Cup is a great platform for budding players as it helps them
showcase their talent and make a mark in world cricket.
The U-19
World Cup will take place in four Bangladesh cities from Feb 27 to March 14 and
will feature nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate
members — Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal and Scotland.
Azhar,
a frontline batsman who played in the 2002 U-19 World Cup, said it was an
important tournament for any ambitious youngster.
“This
tournament offers an opportunity to throw the young ones in the deep end and
assess their future potential,” Azhar was quoted by an ICC press release as
saying.
The
U-19 World Cup gives young players a huge chance to showcase their talent and
make their mark, he said. “Those who perform are noticed by their respective
selectors and that is why so many of us who first featured in the U-19 World Cup
have gone on to become senior pros.”
He
further said that the U-19 World Cup gave youngsters the feel of international
cricket. “It makes one realise the importance of representing their nation,” he
maintained.
With
the U-19 global event, around the corner, like Azhar other cricket stars
including England Test captain Alastair Cook and New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum
also recalled how their participation in the tournament had helped them develop
as cricketers.
Cook,
who played in the 2004 edition in Bangladesh, said representing your country at
a World Cup is a huge honour and a special occasion for players, coaches and
families.
“The
World Cup is a great opportunity for players to test themselves against the
best in the world,” he said.
New
Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who played in the 1998 tournament in South
Africa, said he looks back at the tournament as a step up from anything he had
played in beforehand.
“The
senior team will be closely following the performance of the young New Zealand
cricketers in Bangladesh,” he said.
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