Going into the final group game, we knew exactly what was required. We needed to beat UAE and then hope either New Zealand or England slipped up against Kenya or Nepal respectively. A win would have kept our semi-final hopes alive, but anything less would end our chances of progressing.
5th game vs UAE on an uneven pitch with hot conditions.
UAE won the toss and elected to bat.
UAE got off to a difficult start with K.Djoser falling cheaply, but H.Abdel and R.Ameen managed to rebuild before another couple of wickets left them 96/4 around the halfway stage. Pakistan continued to chip away at the wickets but struggled to completely break UAE’s resistance. S.Al Makhtoum 61 (64) and N.Jubair 59* (58) then took control, putting together a crucial 78 (77) partnership to push UAE towards a competitive total. Jubair remained unbeaten through to the end as UAE finished on 254/8 from their 50 overs. Q.Azmat, S.Kadir and H.Rizwan all picked up two wickets apiece.
Pakistan started the chase well enough with R.Amjad 38 (50) and S.Ashraf 21 (34) putting on 57 for the opening wicket, but we struggled to build any real momentum once the partnership was broken. A couple of quick wickets left us 74/4 and put the pressure firmly back on Pakistan. M.Nazir 44 (73) and J.Tirmizi 27 (33) tried to steady things with a 56 run partnership, but UAE continued to find breakthroughs at important moments. Tirmizi was eventually dismissed with the score on 130 before S.Kadir 22 (32) offered some late resistance, but by then the required rate had climbed too far. N.Nasih was the standout bowler for UAE with an excellent 4/64, while N.Jubair backed up his unbeaten 59 with 2/21 as Pakistan were bowled out for 185 in 43.4 overs.
UAE won by 69 runs.
Unfortunately, the defeat brought our World Cup campaign to an end, regardless of the results in the other two games. A disappointing way to finish after the highs and lows of the group stage, but plenty to take away from the tournament and from the group of players we’ve developed along the way.
Man of the Match: N.Jubair 59* (58) & 2/21
Match Ratings
Pakistan U20 UAE U20
Batting - Top Order 10,228 10,196
Batting - Middle Order 9,253 8,978
Batting - Tail 4,688 5,194
Bowling - Seam 9,850 (30) 9,072 (40)
Bowling - Spin 10,138 (20) 10,127 (10)
Fielding/Keeping 11,060 10,977
Overall 174,998 171,630
Match Scorecard
Regards
U20 Management Team