Steve Stolk smashes 37-ball 86 as South Africa thump Scotland; Pakistan and Zimbabwe script crushing wins

Steve Stolk and Dewan Marais smashed a combined 15 fours and 11 sixes to help South Africa pummel Scotland in Potchefstroom.

Jamie Dunk and Owen Gould's 90s had taken Scotland to a competitive 269 for 9, but Stolk's blitz ensured their campaign wouldn't enter the Super Six stage.

Stolk was in the mood for boundaries from the start. He kicked off the chase with three fours off Qasim Khan, and followed it up with a 34-run over, with five sixes and a four, also off Qasim to reach his half-century in a remarkable 13 balls. South Africa's fifty came up in just 18 balls.

Gould, who brought himself on in place of Qasim, was caught in Stolk's whirlwind as South Africa reached their hundred in 7.1 overs. Nikhil Koteeswaran slowed things down a bit by removing both openers - Stolk and Lhuan-dre Pretorius - in the space of 11 balls. Just a temporary slowdown.

Marais started sedately start along with Tristan Luus, but then launched a flurry of boundaries as South Africa passed 200 in 20 overs, the target within sight. He belted two fours and a six off Koteeswaran, four fours off Adi Hegde, and three off Logan Briggs as the final three over of the 27-over chase went for 55 runs.

South Africa had put Scotland in to bat earlier in the day, and Dunk oversaw a slow but solid start. Riley Norton got Hegde right after a 27-run opening powerplay, but Dunk found support in a 57-run stand with Alec Price followed by a 115-run stand with Gould as Scotland reached 200 at a run rate of 4.76.

Dunk fell to Norton but Gould's presence coupled with a cameo from Uzair Ahmad (23 in eight balls) brought 69 runs in the last eight overs. Kwena Maphaka removed Gould in the final over before three run outs closed the innings.

Shahzaib Khan continued his stunning run of form, slamming an unbeaten 80 to take Pakistan past New Zealand by ten wickets in their men's Under-19 World Cup match in East London, but the canter was really set up by the bowling unit.

New Zealand, after electing to bat first, were 28 for 3 in seven overs, Luke Watson, Tom Jones and Snehith Reddy all falling to Ubaid Shah's pace. There was a bit of a fightback, first courtesy Oliver Tewatiya (29) and captain Oscar Jackson (12), and then a more substantial one from Tewatiya and top-scorer Lachlan Stackpole (41), adding 61 runs for the fifth wicket. But New Zealand, who had recovered from their wobbly start to reach the halfway mark at a relatively respectable 116 for 4, collapsed again.

Stackpole and Tewatiya were both dismissed offspiner Naveed Ahmed Khan between the 26th and 28th overs, and this time, there were no fightbacks. New Zealand folded for 140, with left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas returning spectacular figures of 3 for 6 from five overs.

Pakistan were unlikely to be tested too much by that target, and with Player of the Match Shahzaib hitting 80 in 86 balls, with ten fours and three sixes, and Shamyl Hussain scoring 54 in 66 with six fours and two sixes, they rushed to the target in just 25.2 overs. That made it three in three for Pakistan, taking them top of the Group D table, with New Zealand in second place. Yesterday, Nepal became the third team to qualify for the Super Six stage from the group after a thrilling win over Afghanistan.

It wasn't the most entertaining contest, but after 85.3 overs in which 293 runs were scored and only ten wickets claimed, Group C had its third Super Six qualifier - Zimbabwe.

Namibia, who had earlier lost to Australia and Sri Lanka, the top-two sides in the group, but had at times looked a stronger side than Zimbabwe, came undone when it mattered the most. Their batters just couldn't get going against the likes of Ryan Simbi (3-20), Newman Nyamhuri (4-21), Kohl Eksteen (1-18) and Matthew Schonken (0-26), who combined for returns of 8 for 85 from 38 overs.

The result was 146 for 8 from 50 overs. It could have been worse, but Hanro Badenhorst and Woutie Niehaus combined for 46 unbeaten runs for their ninth-wicket stand - in 13.1 overs! - to give Namibia a bit more than they might have expected at 100 for 8 in the 37th over.

The chase was straightforward. Ryan Kamwemba fell with the total at 21 in the fifth over, but fellow opener Panashe Taruvinga batted through the chase to finish with 59 from 115 balls, and Brandon Sunguro (29) and Campbell Macmillan (10*) gave him the support he needed to complete the job in 35.3 overs.