The
United States of America Under-19 juggernaut refused to slow down as they thrashed
Uganda Under-19 by 57 runs at the
Maple Leaf North-East Ground in King City.
Azurdeen Mohammed (37) gave USA a steady start after they were put in, and even though Ryan Corns and captain Shiva Vashishat chipped in with thirties, the Uganda bowlers showed great discipline to restrict them to 192 for 8.
The chase was made tough with the USA bowlers picking up wickets regularly - the highest partnership of 44 was for the second wicket between top scorer Andrew Ochan (35) and Suliman Hamid (14). It was left to Corns and Saqib Saleem, who picked up two wickets apiece, to wrap up the match with four overs left, as USA remained the only team undefeated in the competition.
The result helped Ireland go level on points with Papua New Guinea, but more importantly, rise to second spot on the points table by virtue of a superior net run-rate. Paul Stirling (57) and James Shannon (46) strengthened Ireland after they chose to bat, before Graham McDonnell smashed 11 fours during his lightning 62 to lift them to a challenging 273.
It was truly McDonnell's day as he accounted for three of the top four Papua New Guinea batsmen during the chase, to leave them struggling at 98 for 4. Wicketkeeper Steven Eno put on a brave show with 35 but the writing was on the wall as Ireland completed the formalities in the 44th over.
Vanuatu's batting capitulated to the left-arm spin of Zakiullah Zaki, who finished with figures of 6 for 27. Vanuatu's decision to bat backfired as only three of their batsmen managed to reach double-figures. They limped to 70 for 6 and were in danger of getting bowled out for under 100 but Patrick Matautaava's 24-ball 29 saved them the embarrassment. Still, a score of 111 proved woefully inadequate.
Afghanistan, predictably, took little time to finish off the game. Ayoub Ahmadzai, the opener, struck an unbeaten half-century to lead the reply, and added 51 for the second wicket with Shir Shirzai and a further 65 with Noor-ul-Haq to complete the formalities. Afghanistan, as a result, recorded their third win in the competition and are currently placed at No.5 on the points table.
In a more
competitive encounter at the same venue, hosts
Canada Under-19 inflicted a fourth consecutive defeat on
Hong Kong Under-19, beating them by 57 runs to take the top spot on the points table.
Unlike Vanuatu, Canada justified their decision to bat by posting a substantial total, thanks to a collective batting display. Openers Hiral Patel (82) and Ruvindu Gunasekara (53) put together a stand of 134 to lay the stage, and the others chipped in with important contributions to take their team to a formidable 277 for 6.
Hong Kong were dented early in their response, as they lost two wickets for 13 but Nizakat Khan (80) and Irfan Ahmed (58) led the recovery with a 104-run stand. But a three-wicket burst from medium-pacer Darius D'Souza, which included Nizakhat's wicket, shut out Hong Kong and they finished with 220 in the end.
The match between
Netherlands Under-19 and
Sierra Leone Under-19 at the
Malton Cricket Club did not take place. Sierra Leone cannot participate in the tournament and have therefore forfeited all their games. Each team, as a result, is automatically awarded two points.