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It’s England v Pakistan in semis

England, chasing 222 for victory were reeling at six for 148 in the 34th over, but a fighting unbeaten 28 off 45 balls from Rob Jones guided England home with five balls to spare in the quarter-final.

England’s Jonathan Tattersall bats against India. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar

Defending champions India knocked out; Aslam smashes 95 as Sri Lanka crash to 121-run defeat

England knocked out defending champions India and stormed into the semi-finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium here on Saturday.

England, who edged past India by three wickets, will face Pakistan, who thrashed Sri Lanka by 121 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in the semi-final at the Dubai stadium on Monday.

England, chasing 222 for victory were reeling at six for 148 in the 34th over, but a fighting unbeaten 28 off 45 balls from Rob Jones guided England home with five balls to spare in the quarter-final.

Spinner Rob Sayer, who earlier returned with excellent figures of 1-27 from his 10 overs, hit the winning runs, cutting pacer Chama Milind over the cover for a boundary. He remained not out on 10 off 11 balls.

The chase wasn’t smooth for England after losing three wickets for 41 by the end of 11 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers as the left-arm chinaman bowler took three crucial wickets, including the one of Ben Duckett, who changed the complexion of the match with a 64-ball 61, including seven fours.

Yadav also sent back the dangerous Joe Clarke, who smashed a 45-ball 42, in the 46th over and raised hopes for an Indian comeback.

Duckett’s fall in the 30th over tilted the balance in India’s favour as spinners Aamir Gani and Deepak Hooda picked up one wicket apiece to put the English batsmen under pressure.

Duckett, in the company of Ed Barnard, added 76 runs for the fourth wicket, while the seventh wicket partnership between Clarke and Jones yielded 51. However, the 23-run unbeaten eighth wicket partnership between Jones and Slayer in 3.4 overs proved crucial for England.

Earlier, India, who chose to bat first, lost four wickets for 24, but half-centuries from Hooda and Sarfaraz Khan helped the team reach a competitive total of 221 for eight in 50 overs. Hooda hit an attractive 68 off 99 balls with nine fours, while Khan smashed four boundaries in his unbeaten knock of 52 off 46 deliveries.

Skipper Vijay Zol hit an useful 45, while Yadav made an 18-ball 16.

Pacer Matthew Fisher made all the difference in the morning, picking up three wickets for 55 from his 10 overs.

Sami Aslam powers Pakistan
Skipper Sami Aslam smashed a composed 95 and helped Pakistan cruise to a 121-run victory over Sri Lanka in the quarter-final at Sharjah. Pakistan, who chose to bat first, were given a 177-run partnership for the first wicket by Aslam and Imam-ul-Haq.

Aslam hit eight fours and two sixes in his match-winning knock, while Haq made a 107-ball 82 with seven boundaries and one six.

Kamran Ghulam boosted the total with a 44-ball 52 with four boundaries and two sixes.

Sri Lankan bowlers were proved ineffective till the 37th over when Aslam was sent back by medium-pacer Binura Fernando, who finished with figures of 4-56 from his nine overs.

Left-arm medium-pacer Anuk Fernando picked up two for 45 from seven overs as Paksitan posted 279 for nine in 50 overs.

The Sri Lankan chase started on a disastrous note when left-arm pacer Zia-ul-Haq clean bowled the in-form opener Hashan Dumindu for a duck.

The islanders faced another set back in the second over when their captain Kusal Mendis was run out for one.

However, the other opener Sadeera Samarawickrama made a 67-ball 51, while Priyamal Perera added 68 off 81 balls with seven fours and one six.

Haq, Karamat Ali, Zafar Johar and Kamran Ghulam bagged two wickets apiece as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 158 in 42.3 overs.