Pakistan U19 beats Afghanistan by 13 runs in 4th ODI

DUBAI: The Pakistan Under-19 cricket team defeated Afghanistan Under-19 by 13 runs in the 4th One-Day International (ODI) match of the tri-nation UAE U19 ODI series 2024, at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Wednesday.

Ali Raza of Pakistan U19 was named Man of the Match for his brilliant performance, taking 4 wickets for 57 runs in 10 overs.

Batting first, Pakistan U19 set Afghanistan a target of 244 runs in 49.4 overs. Shahzaib Khan top-scored with 78 runs off 101 balls before being bowled out by Abdul Aziz.

The second-best score for Pakistan U19 came from Usman Khan, who faced 88 balls and scored 77 runs before being dismissed by Faisal Shinozada of Afghanistan U19.

The rest of the Pakistani batsmen fell for less than 30 runs each.

For Afghanistan U19, Abdul Aziz and Khatir Stanikzai claimed 3 wickets each. Aziz gave away 24 runs in 5.4 overs, while Stanikzai conceded 48 runs in 9 overs.

Also read: Pakistan U19 squad for tri-series and Asia Cup announced

Additionally, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil took 2 wickets, giving 29 runs in 10 overs, while Nooristani Omarzai accounted for one wicket, conceding 38 runs in 5 overs.

Chasing the target, Afghanistan U19 managed to score 231 runs, falling short by 13 runs. All their batsmen were dismissed by Pakistan U19 bowlers in 46.4 overs.

Although Uzairullah Niazai of Afghanistan U19 played a superb innings, scoring 70 runs off 72 balls, his efforts were not enough to save his team from defeat. Faisal Shinozada and Naseer Khan Maroofkhil were dismissed just shy of fifty, while the remaining players failed to score more than 20 runs and lost their wickets.

Pakistan secured the victory due to the outstanding batting performances of Shahzaib Khan and Usman Khan, who scored 78 and 77 respectively, as well as the impressive bowling by Ali Raza, who claimed 4 wickets and was named Man of the Match.