Holders Pakistan rout New Zealand to charge into Super League

New Zealand 77 (24 overs, Anwer Ali Khan 5-34); Pakistan 78-2 (8.5 overs). Pakistan won by eight wickets.

Anwar Ali celebrates one of his five wickets © ICC

Defending champions Pakistan charged into the Super League as they routed Group A rivals New Zealand by eight wickets with the match finishing before the scheduled lunch break.

They dismissed their opponents for just 77 after winning the toss and then knocked off the required runs in just 8.5 overs and the whole game was wrapped up in three hours.

The win sends Pakistan into the last eight of the tournament where they will face the winners of the England-Zimbabwe clash on Saturday.

For New Zealand there is the knowledge they have failed to qualify for the Super League for the first time in their history and they will now take part in the Plate Championship where they will face Ireland on Tuesday.

Conditions were extremely helpful for the Pakistan bowlers following heavy overnight rain that flooded the ground but the bowlers still had to exploit those conditions and Pakistan had two players who did just that.

Anwer Ali Khan and Jamshaid Ahmed were the chief wreckers in an innings that lasted just 24 overs.

Anwer took 5-34 in a full ten over spell while Jamshaid Ahmed took 3-14 from nine overs. The only other bowler used was fellow seamer Akhtar Ayub and he picked up 1-23 in five overs.

To his credit, New Zealand coach Dipak Patel did not blame those conditions as a major factor in his side's collapse.

"The toss did have a bearing (on the result)," he said. "But it was probably not the main excuse.

"There was a bit of dampness around but none of the rain got on the pitch.

"There was some very good bowling but perhaps our shot selection was not great and we did not handle the moving ball."

Only two New Zealand batsmen reached double figures - opener Todd Astle, New Zealand's form batsman of the tournament so far, with 12, while Roneel Hira struck a defiant 28 not out. Extras contributed 17 to the total, including six wides and five no-balls.

New Zealand did have the consolation of avoiding the lowest total of the tournament so far, an honour that remains with Uganda after the African side made 74 against Pakistan on Monday.

And they also avoided their lowest-ever total in the history of the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, the 53 they made against Australia in Moratuwa during the 2000 tournament.

New Zealand's total was disastrous but it could have been a lot worse for them as, at one stage, they were 17-6.

Marc Ellison's side reached 13-0 before the bowlers broke through with Jamshaid removing Martin Guptill (1), bowled, and Ellison (0) leg before wicket while Anwer dismissed Shaun Fitzgibbon (1), Andrew de Boorder (0) and Kieran Noema-Barnett (6).

And to make matters worse for New Zealand, Ronald Karaitiana was run out for nought, not an ideal dismissal with the bowling side already on top.

Colin Munro was drafted in as super sub to replace Hamish Bennett when the seventh wicket went down but he managed just one scoring shot - albeit a six - before Anwer got him as well.

Astle was the other one of Anwer's victims, one of two catches behind the stumps for Pakistan captain Safaraz Ahmed, who must have been thankful for winning the toss.

Hira's defiance was one of the few positives to come out of the innings for New Zealand as he struck two fours and a six in a 60-ball innings that spanned 90 tough minutes at the crease.

Pakistan had a small target to chase but they made quick work of it as Ali Khan struck an unbeaten 30 from only 29 balls to see his side home.

Tim Southee (1-25) and Hira (1-3) took the wickets for New Zealand but the bowlers faced a near-hopeless task after the failures of their batsmen.

Pakistan coach Mansoor Rana was ecstatic at the way his players had dealt with the pressure of their must-win match.

"This is what these boys are capable of doing," he said.

"They can embarrass you like they did against Bangladesh when we collapsed but they can do this as well and if we can do this then we are capable of doing it against anyone.

"There is no chance of us giving up the World Cup without a fight as we are here for that purpose.

"The boys are going to do their best as they have done today and now we must carry on because every game is a final and we must give it our maximum."