India play Sri Lanka in the first semi-final at the same venue on Tuesday. The Pakistani captain Zeeshan Malik won the toss and elected to bat first which did not prove out to be a good decision and they lost wickets early. There was no need for panic though and West Indies completed the chase methodically.
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Karachi-Umair Masood smashed a fighting century but his grand effort went in van as West Indies stunned Pakistan by five wickets to storm into the semi-final of ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Fataullah (Bangladesh) on Monday.
West Indies reached the target of 229 in 40 overs with Tevin Imlach top scoring with 54 runs from 76 balls while Shimron Hetmyer made 52 runs from 42 deliveries. But, the team has closed ranks and Dwain Gill, the manager, made it clear that even if Paul was made available for an interaction, he would not be talking about that dismissal.
While he has taken the pitch out of the equation with his pace, the teams will be mentally prepared for a run-feast on one of the flattest surfaces in the tournament.
Umaid came to the crease in the 15th over with Pakistan struggling at 40/4 and rebuilt the innings in the company of Salman Fayyaz after half the side was back in the hut by the 21st over.
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Pakistan Under-19s seemed to take control once again when Hetmyer was stumped off Shadab Khan’s flighted leg-spinner followed by Imlach and Keacy Carty getting dismissed in quick succession. Jyd Goolie (not out 26 off 32b; 2×4), KMA Paul (not out 24 off 16b; 4×4, 1×6) and opener Gidron Pope (25 off 18b; 2×4, 2×6) were the other double figure contributors for West Indies. He is the glue of this side as he offers the think-tank an option to build their playing XI around him. Once Joseph’s spell finished in the 36th over, Pakistan added a further 109 runs to set the West Indies a challenging target.
