NCA Youth XI sweep ODI series against Malaysia

Captain Nawaz’s all-rounder performance helps team in third match

KARACHI: An unbeaten century by skipper Nasir Nawaz guided NCA Youth XI to an emphatic six-wicket victory over Malaysia in the third ODI at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Thursday.

Ahmed Faiz, captain of Malaysia cricket team, won the toss for the third consecutive time and elected to bat first. The visitors, backed by their captain’s unbeaten ton (139 off 125 balls), scored 272 for the loss of six wickets in 45 overs. The next top-scorer for Malaysia was Syahadat Ramly (29).

Salman Irshad was the most successful bowler for the NCA Youth XI as he bagged three wickets for 58 runs. Nawaz took two for 61 runs while Haris Sohail accounted for one batsman.

In reply, NCA Youth XI’s openers provided a solid platform to their team and scored 50 runs inside eight overs. Opener Zaid Alam scored 66 off 62 hitting five boundaries and two maximums while Abdullah Shafiq scored 35.

Nawaz then took over from the openers and played an unbeaten 67-ball 105-run innings courtesy three sixes and 12 fours. His aggressive batting helped the home team to chase down the target (273) inside 38 overs for the loss of four wickets.

Sohail also scored 21 off 12 balls before getting out to leg-spinner Rashid Ahad who took two wickets for 64 runs in nine overs and was Malaysia’s most effective bowler.

Nawaz, who also captained Pakistan U19 team in the Junior Asia Cup recently, said: “It was a good practice match for the home team which was mainly consisted of U19 players.”

He added: “The visitors put up a great fight and it is a good sign that our batsmen chased the target well. I hope the U19 players have learned a lot from the series and they will be ready for the upcoming junior World Cup.”

NCA Youth XI will now participate in two T20 matches against Malaysia on January 14 and 16.