Pakistan registered a comfortable 8-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in Harare in the team’s final group stage match in the ongoing U19 World Cup, qualifying for the Super Six round.
After suffering a 37-point defeat to England in their first match of the tournament, the Greenshirts made a comeback by beating Scotland and Zimbabwe in consecutive matches.
With this victory, Pakistan secures second place in the group rankingswith England in the lead.
Depending on the tournament formatThe top three teams from the four groups will qualify for the Super Six round, where they will be divided into two groups of six teams, playing two matches each.
This means that despite the defeat, Zimbabwe will also progress to the Super Six stage.
Pakistan U19 captain Farhan Yousaf had won the toss and opted to bowl first at Takashinga Sports Club.
Pakistani bowlers maintained a strong hold on the Zimbabwean batters, with a dominant performance from Ali Raza, who took three wickets and bowled four first overs.
Mohammad Sayyam, Abdul Subhan and Momin Qamar also grabbed a few wickets each for Pakistan.
For Zimbabwe, Nathaniel Hlabangana could only score 59 points; no other hitter could help him maintain momentum and build partnerships. Eight Zimbabwean batters could not even reach double figures.
Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by a score of just 128 runs in 35.5 overs.
While chasing the target, the Pakistani batters outplayed the Zimbabwean bowlers by making the total in the 27th over, with the fall of two wickets.
Sameer Minhas won the Player of the Match award, with an unbeaten 74 off 75 deliveries, including six boundaries and four sixes.
Minhas was helped by Usman Khan and Ahmed Hussain, who scored 26 and 24 points respectively.
