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Pakistan v South Africa, 2nd semi-final, U-19 World Cup
Rain forces resumption of semi-final on Saturday
The Bulletin by George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur
February 29, 2008
Rain interruption Pakistan Under-19s 86 for 2 (Shehzad 40*, Amin 22*, Parnell 2-39) need 166 runs in 28.1 overs to beat South Africa Under-19s 260 for 8
(Smuts 58, Rossouw 53, Vandiar 50, Wasim 3-45) by D/L method
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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JJ Smuts, who top scored with 58, laid the platform for the middle order to set-up a challenging total
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A monsoonal shower during the Pakistan run-chase forced the semi-final to be
put on hold and the players will return on Saturday to resume the contest
with Pakistan needing 166 runs to win in 28.1 overs with eight wickets in
hand. There were two interruptions during Pakistan's run-chase: the first
came in the 13th over, forcing the target to be cut from 261 to 252 off 47
overs, and the second downpour in the 19th over brought another halt,
with the game seven balls short of the necessary 20 overs to produce a
result. Pakistan ended the evening on 86 for 2 off 18.5 overs, and needed
to be 91 for 2 after 20 to progress to the final.
It was perhaps fair that the game wasn't decided on a 20-over D/L result
for South Africa had batted determinedly to post a sizable 260 for 8 off
their 50 overs, which wasn't interrupted by a drop. Their batting has
improved as the World Cup has progressed and a strong performance
from the top order - JJ Smuts, Riley Rossouw and Jonathan Vandiar scored
half-centuries - had set up a tough run-chase. Pakistan had also responded
confidently: they lost two early wickets which put them behind the D/L
requirement but Shehzad Ahmed and Umar Amin had added 69 runs for the
third wicket to being them on par.
The pair began the recovery after Wayne Parnell struck a double blow in
his second over: Umar Akmal spooned a catch to mid-on and Shan Masood had
his leg stump uprooted by a ball that swung past his defences. Pakistan were struggling at 17 for 2 but Shehzad unfurled an array of attacking straight drives to maintain a high run-rate. The shots that stood out, however, were two lofted flicks off Matthew Arnold.
Another wicket would have put Pakistan severely behind the D/L requirement
but Shehzad, who also had a back problem, and Amir went about
building the momentum seamlessly. However, they are still 166 runs away from
the final and have the night to plan the run-chase.
South Africa, on the other hand, will be relieved that they can come back
tomorrow because the slippery ball wasn't easy to control - they bowled 10
wides - and the wet conditions would have hampered their defence after
their batsmen performed impressively. Ray Jennings, South Africa's coach,
had warned the opposition against underestimating their batting - which
had shown susceptibility against spin in earlier matches - and they backed
up his confidence with their best performance of the tournament.
The pitch did nothing for the fast bowlers in terms of swing and seam
movement, even though the skies were overcast, and South Africa batted
sensibly. A slow run-rate at the start of an innings had been the feature
of matches at the Kinrara Oval but the openers Smuts and Pieter Malan
scored at nearly five an over. Smuts, a tall right-hand batsman, used his
power to drive through cover and made room to hit the ball past mid-off to
build the initial momentum.
Adil Raza, who struck twice in his first over against Australia, was
insipid in his opening spell and prompted Imad Wasim, the captain, to
bring him on from the other end. The change worked: Raza produced a sharp
bouncer that hit Malan's top-edge and ballooned up to wicketkeeper Ali
Asad.
Rossouw, who played a calm innings to secure a victory against West
Indies, was confident from the outset. He hoisted medium-pacer Mohammad
Rameez off his hips to the midwicket boundary and then cut Raza with
precision through a tiny gap at point. He also focused on singles and
rotated the strike with Smuts, who by now was well set and pulled
confidently whenever the medium-pacers pitched short.
With his three quicks proving ineffective, Wasim turned to offspinner
Akmal and brought himself on from the other end to try and break the
partnership. The ploy did not work as Rossouw swept Akmal effectively
while Smuts used his power to clout Wasim's left-arm spin to long-on and
through midwicket. Rossouw hit the only six off the innings during this
period, lofting Wasim over long-on.
The introduction of legspinner Shehzad eventually gave Pakistan the
breakthrough. He bowled with four fielders in the circle on the off side
and none on the leg, and invited Smuts to hit against the spin: he obliged
and holed out to long-on for 58, ending a partnership of 91 for the second
wicket. Rossouw fell soon after for 53, getting a leading edge to Akmal at
short third man while trying to hit across the line.
From a position of strength at 126 for 1, South Africa stumbled to 142 for
3 with two brand new batsmen at the crease. Pakistan used the opportunity
to slow the run-rate and Wasim removed three batsmen - Mohammad Vallie,
Parnell and Roy Adams - before partnerships threatened to build.
However, Vandiar, who has batted aggressively throughout the
tournament, kept the momentum going from one end with a plucky
half-century. He played several orthodox cuts and drives interspersed with
inside edges during his run-a-ball 50 and ensured that the initiative was
not lost. Hendricks arrived right at the death overs and struck four fours
in his 24 as Pakistan's fielding grew increasingly ragged, allowing South
Africa to score 70 off the final ten overs.
George Binoy is a staff writer at Cricinfo
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