Afghanistan clinch Plate Cup

A series of matches yesterday saw almost all the positions of the Under-19 World Cup decided except for the top four.

Pakistan beat England by seven wickets to claim the fifth spot, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by five wickets to win the Plate Cup or in other words, claim the ninth spot and South Africa humbled New Zealand by 138 runs to finish 11th.

The final four spots will be decided by tomorrow with Bangladesh taking on Sri Lanka for the third-place decider today, while India will take on West Indies in the final tomorrow.

At Fatullah, England posted a healthy 264 batting first with Sam Curran scoring 83 off 107 balls and Tom Moores contributing 47. Seamer Sameen Gul took two wickets for 42 runs, while Saif Ali snapped up two for 37.

It initially seemed as though the total would challenge Pakistan. However, opener Zeeshan Malik led Pakistan's reply with a 105-ball 93, studded with 15 fours. After he did the hard work, Saif Badar and Hasan Mohsin came to the crease and shared a 67-run stand for the fourth wicket to take them home.

Saif was unbeaten on 75 while Mohsin finished on 39 as Pakistan won in the 44th over.

Afghanistan crossed another milestone in their growth in international cricket as they won the Plate Championship for the first time and claimed the ninth position by defeating Zimbabwe in Cox's Bazar.

However, halfway through the chase, the Afghans seemed a bit nervous. Chasing Zimbabwe's 216 for nine, they slipped to 123 for five in the 31st over. But that's when Tariq Stanikzai and Rashid Khan stood up to turn the game around with an unbroken stand of 95 for the sixth wicket.

The in-form Stanikzai scored a brilliant 106 off 142 balls (10x4, 2x6) whereas Rashid remained unbeaten on 55. Stanikzai hit ten fours and two sixes during his cautious knock. Defending champions South Africa piled up 288 runs in Cox's Bazar courtesy of a century from Dean Foxcroft.

Foxcroft hit 13 fours and a six in his 137 ball innings. He was well supported by Rivaldo Moonsamy and Wandile Makwetu, both of whom scored half-centuries.

New Zealand were shot out for 150 in reply with Finn Allen top-scoring with 40. Wiaan Mulder claimed four wickets for 14 runs and Ziyaad Abrahams took two for 37.

SCORES IN BRIEF
ENGLAND: 264 for 7 (Curran 83, Tom Moores 47; Gul 2-42)
PAKISTAN: 265 for 3 in 43.1 overs (Malik 93, Badar 75 not out, Hasan Mohsin 39 not out; Crane 1-50)
Result: Pakistan won by seven wickets. 
ZIMBABWE: 216 for 9 (Murray 53, Mashinge 66; Rehman 3-33, Musa 3-38)
AFGHANISTAN: 218 for 5 in 46.5 overs (Stanikzai 106 not out, Rashid 55 not out; Jeremy Ives 2-36)
Result: Afghanistan won by five wickets. 
SOUTH AFRICA: 288 for 6 (Foxcroft 117, Moonsamy 51, Makwetu 50 not out; Aniket Parikh 2-33)
NEW ZEALAND: 150 all out in 38.4 overs (Allen 40; Mulder 4-14, Ziyaad 2-37)
Result: South Africa won by 138 runs