Pakistan U19 back to winning ways

Beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in Tri-Nation Series.

A near-perfect performance saw Pakistan under-19 go top of the table after an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe under-19 in the Tri-Nation Series.

Bundling out the opposition for just 138 courtesy Ziaul Haq’s three wickets, Pakistan opener Faraz Ali hit a composed 68 to help his team overhaul the target in the 28th over to register their fourth win in five matches.

Earlier, only Luke Masasire and Kevin Kasuza offered resistance as none of the other Zimbabwe batsmen managed to reach double figures. Haq was ably supported by the rest of the attack as Usman Qadir and Mohammad Nawaz, who have both had a tremendous tournament, shared four wickets between them.

In reply, an 80-run second-wicket partnership between Ali and Shahan Akram sealed Zimbabwe’s fate, who ended the series with six losses in as many matches.

Pakistan now play their last group match against South Africa today in what will be a dress rehearsal for the January 22 final.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2012.