ICC U-19 World Cup 2020: Warm-up matches Day 1 round-up

The much anticipated ICC Under-19 World Cup is all set to get underway on 17th January in South Africa, with the hosts taking on Afghanistan in the opening fixture. 16 teams competing for the trophy are divided into four groups and two teams from each group will proceed to the quarter-finals.

As we get ready for the main event, here is a round-up of Day 1 of the warm-up games:

Also see – Under 19 world cup most runs

South Africa U19 v Sri Lanka U19

Sri Lanka U19 197/10 (Navod Paranavithana 68, Mohamed Shamaaz 34, Tiaan van Vuuren 2/15) beat South Africa U19 182/10 (Jonathan Bird 71, Jack Lees 46, Amshi Oren 2/30) by 15 runs

Winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bat first. After the early wicket of Kamil Mishara, Paranavithana steadied the ship with a gutsy 68, followed by a late rearguard action by Shamaaz. Sri Lanka were bundled out for 197 with Merick Brett and Tiaan van Vuuren taking 2 wickets each. Opener Jonathan Bird fought with a valiant 71 but lack of support from others derailed the chase as they got all out for 182. Jack Lees kept the game alive with 46 off 70 balls. Amshi Oren was the top wicket taker with 2 wickets while six other bowlers picked one wicket each.

England U19 v Zimbabwe U19

Zimbabwe U19 119/10 (Tadiwanashe Marumani 53, George Balderson 3/16, Lewis Goldsworthy 2/13), England U19 1/0 No Result

Zimbabwe elected to bat after winning the toss. But the decision backfired as the top order was dismissed cheaply. Tadiwanashe Marumani played the lone hand of 53 and helped Zimbabwe cross the three-figure mark. George Balderson picked 3 wickets and Scott Curie and Lewis Goldworthy picked 2 wickets each as Zimbabwe were all out for 119. However, England could bat just one over before rain ended any further chances of play.

Pakistan U19 v Nigeria U19

Pakistan U19 110/0 (Suleimon Runsewe 29, Amir Ali 3/12, Abbas Afridi 2/12) beat Nigeria U19 109/10 (Haider Ali 70 ret out, Mohammad Haris 18*) by 10 wickets

Nigeria opted to bat after winning the toss, but Pakistan bowlers made life difficult for the Nigerian batsmen. Only 2 batsmen, Runsewe and Mba, managed to reach double digits. Amir Ali picked 3 and Abbas Afridi and Qasim Akram chipped in with 2 wickets each. A target of 110 proved to be cakewalk for Pakistani openers as Haider Ali single handedly batted Nigeria out of the game with a quickfire 38 before he retired out. Mohammad Haris and Muhammad Munir remained unbeaten on 18 and 14 respectively as Pakistan chased down the target in the 15th over.

India is grouped with New Zealand, Sri lanka , and Japan in Group A

India U19 v Afghanistan U19

India U19 255/8 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 69, Tilak Verma 55, Abid Mohammadi 3/19) beat Afghanistan U19 44/10 (Ishaq Shirzad 11, Kartik Tyagi 3/10, Krishnan Sridhar 2/6) by 211 runs

Winning the toss, India decided to bat first. After the early wicket of Divyansh Saxena, Yashasvi Jaiswal forged a crucial partnership with Tilak Verma, with the duo scoring 69 and 55 respectively. This was followed by some late blitz by the lower middle order which helped India reach 255. Abid Mohammadi got 3 wickets while Fazal Haq picked 3. Afghanistan had a forgettable outing with the bat as they were skittled for a paltry 44 runs in just over 17 overs. Kartik Tyagi picked 3 wickets while Utkarsh Singh, Sushant Mishra, and Krishnan Sridhar picked 2 wickets each. For Afghanistan, wicket-keeper Ishaq Shirzad was the only batsman to reach double digits with a score of 11.