A poor start: Afghanistan U19 defeat Pakistani counterparts by 10 wickets

The hosts were dismissed for just 131 in first ODI

KARACHI: The Pakistan U19 team lost to Afghanistan U19 by 10 wickets in the opener of their three-match ODI series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday. 

A lack of team coordination between the recently-selected players was the main reason behind the loss, said head coach Tahir Mehmood. “The team was selected on the basis of recent performance, but as they came here only a day before the match, they did not get enough time to train as a team,” he said.

Mehmood added that the team is preparing for the next ODI tomorrow and the Afghan players will see a big change in Pakistan’s play. “Although the Afghan team is not weak, our team contains the best U19 players from the domestic circuit.”

The coach felt he was let down mainly by the batsmen. “Our batting is our main strength but the batsmen did not perform well enough today [Tuesday],” he said. “We were dismissed in just 32.2 overs, while Saud Shakeel’s 21 was the highest score.”

The coach, however, promised improvements in the department and believes that a lack of experience hurt his side. “I will be working more on our strength,” he said. “The team also had nine players who are playing an international match for the first time, which might have put added pressure on them.”

Pakistan, who chose to bat first, made just 131 in 32.2 overs in a rain-hit match. Ziaur Rehman was the star of the show with the ball for the Afghans as he finished with figures of 3-20. Afghanistan’s reply was delayed due to rain and the visitors were given a revised target of 102 to chase in 22 overs according to the D/L method. However, they never looked in trouble as openers Hazratullah Zazai and Shahidullah made 66 off 44 balls and 33 off 52 balls respectively to reach the score without the loss of any wicket.

 

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