Pakistan Under-19 have come under the spotlight during the ongoing U19 World Cup following their Group C match at the Takashinga Sports Club on Thursday.
Pakistan qualified for the Super Six stage after defeating Zimbabwe by eight wickets. However, more than the victory itself, questions have been raised about Pakistan’s approach in reaching the target. Pakistan Under-19 chased down a modest target of 129 runs for the loss of two wickets in 26.2 overs. Sameer Minhas was named player of the match after scoring 74 runs off 75 balls.
At one stage, Pakistan were 93 for two in 16 overs, and it appeared the team would reach the target comfortably and much earlier.
After that point, however, the Pakistani batters slowed their scoring rate considerably. Some overs produced only two runs, while others yielded just a single run.
Pakistan took 10 overs to score the next 35 runs and eventually reached the target in the 27th over.
Once 25 overs had been completed, the batters increased the tempo. In the first two balls of the 27th over, Sameer Munhas struck two sixes to seal the win.
As a result, even if Zimbabwe qualify, Pakistan will carry a higher net run rate than Zimbabwe into the Super Six stage.
