- Advertisement -
ISLAMABAD, Jan 21 (APP):Pakistan will be aiming to end their group-stage fixtures of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup on a winning note when they take on Zimbabwe at the Takashinga Sports Club in Harare on Thursday.
The Asian champions, who are part of Group ‘C’ in the ongoing mega event, defeated Scotland by six wickets on Monday, while they suffered a 37-run defeat against England on January 16, said a press release.
Farhan Yousaf-led Pakistan side, who recently won the tri-series in Zimbabwe by beating the hosts by nine wickets in the final, will be expecting their players to replicate those performances in tomorrow’s important encounter.
The first ball of the match will be bowled at 9.30am local time, with the toss scheduled at 9am.
In head-to-head contests, Pakistan U19 and Zimbabwe U19 have faced each other 18 times, with Pakistan winning 15 matches. Zimbabwe have won once, while two matches ended with no result due to rain.
As per the format of the 16-team, four-group tournament, the top three sides from each group will qualify for the Super Six stage. The top three teams from Group ‘B’ will join the three qualifiers from Group ‘C’ to form one Super Six group. Similarly, the top three teams from Group ‘A’ will combine with the three qualifiers from Group ‘D’ in the other group.
Pakistan, who are currently placed second in Group ‘C’ (C2), are likely to face B3 at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday, January 27, before taking on B1 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday, February 1.
The top two teams from each Super Six group will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled to be played on February 3 and 4, respectively. The final of the tournament will be played at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Friday, February 6.
Earlier, Pakistan U19 team took part in a training session in the afternoon at the Old Hararians under the supervision of the coaching staff led by Shahid Anwar. The session lasted for over two hours, with batters and bowlers engaging in net sessions, followed by fielding drills.
At the conclusion of the session, right-arm fast bowler Abdul Subhan, while speaking to PCB Digital said, “We are well prepared for the upcoming match and put in a lot of work during practice. I have been spending extra time working on my batting in the nets and the coaches have been guiding me throughout the process, which has helped me generate more power and fluency in my batting.
“The team’s momentum is good. Tomorrow’s match is very important for us. A win will give us a lot of confidence and help us going into the next stage of the tournament.”
15-member squad: Farhan Yousaf (captain), Usman Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor (wk), Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan (wk), Niqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas and Umar Zaib.