Cricket: Pakistan under-19 keep on winning

Beat South Africa in final group match of Tri-Nation Series.

Pakistan under-19 ended the group stage of the Tri-Nation Series with a seven-wicket win over South Africa under-19 in Stellenbosch.

Pakistan, who have won five out of their six games, will face South Africa again — in the final on January 22.

It was a repeat of their performance against Zimbabwe the previous day as they dismissed the hosts for a paltry 152 in the 48th over with Usman Qadir taking three wickets. New-ball bowlers Ziaul Haq and Azizullah also shared four wickets between them as South Africa lost wickets at regular intervals and found scoring hard to come by. Shaylin Pillay scored 36, the highest score of the innings.

In reply, Sami Aslam scored an unbeaten 84. The opener consumed 133 balls but held his end as the team cruised towards its target but lost wickets along the way.

A 79-run stand between Aslam and Umar Waheed took Pakistan past the finish line as South Africa lost their second match of the tournament. Zimbabwe returned home winless in six games.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2012.