U19CWC Report Card: Pakistan
Results summary:
Group stage: ****
Lost to Afghanistan by 5 wickets
Beat Ireland by 9 wickets
Beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets
Super League quarter-final:
Beat South Africa by 3 wickets****
Super League semi-final:
Lost to India by 203 runs
3rd place play-off
Match abandoned due to rain (Pakistan finished third because they came above Afghanistan in the group stage)
Positives to take home?
Having lost their first match against Afghanistan, Pakistan did very well to come back strongly and qualify for the Super League semi-final against India, where they were comfortably beaten. The big positive was restricting teams to small totals that they could chase, something they did successfully three times. Three of their bowlers finished with an economy rate of under four.
Areas for improvement?
The biggest issue for Pakistan was with the bat. An inability to consistently post competitive totals resulted in their two defeats in the tournament. Against Afghanistan they managed just 188, a total that was chased down with relative ease. And versus India things were even worse. Chasing 272 for victory they were all out for 69.
Rising star?
The pick of the Pakistan players was Shaheen Afridi, who claimed 14 wickets with his left-arm seam bowling. His great height and late movement are key assets and he regularly surprised batsmen with extra bounce. His best effort came against Ireland where his 6/15 set up an easy win for his team.
Shaheen Afridi's pace beats Pillay
Overall grade
B+