Déjà vu for Ali Asad and Imad Wasim

When the dust settled on the quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan, Imad Wasim and Ali Asad might have felt a bit of déjà vu. They had been here before: winning a knock-out match against Australia at an Under-19 World Cup by bowling them out for a low score.

In 2006, Pakistan qualified for the finals by scuttling Australia for 124 after setting a target of 288. Wasim took 3 for 16 with his left-arm spin in that match while Asad had helped rescue Pakistan from 80 for 5 with 69 from 86 balls.

Fast forward two years and there are two significant differences: it was a quarter-final and Australia were batting first. Wasim took 2 for 21 today as Australia were bowled out for 129 and, after Pakistan were reduced to 32 for 3 during their chase, Asad struck an unbeaten 63 off 70 balls to take Pakistan into the semis.

The Australians were understandably downcast after their defeat - their campaign had been weaker than in 2006. The Pakistan team, however, were bubbling with excitement. They cheered loudly as Asad went up to collect his Man-of-the-Match award and raised their volume while he answered questions with a smile that would not go away.

After the formalities had been completed, the Pakistan players did something that I haven't seen so far in the tournament. They went up to the tents and shook hands with the few fans who had vociferously supported them through the match. Two security guards went with the players as they mingled with the crowd and you couldn't help but feel that, although it was better to be safe than sorry, the measure was a bit unnecessary.