Saqib, Shehzad star in Pak U-16s T20 victory

ISLAMABAD: Sameer Saqib and Muhammad Shehzad added 126 runs for the first wicket which proved to be the cornerstone of Pakistan U-16’s thrilling last-ball victory over Australia U-16 in the one-off Twenty20 fixture at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Sunday.

Set a target of 154, Pakistan romped home for the loss of four wickets to end the series on a winning note.

Pakistan U-16s had earlier won the five-match 50-over-a-side series by 3-2. The stars of Pakistan’s victory on Sunday were the pair of Sameer and Shehzad, who batted together for 16.2 overs to set the victory platform.

Sameer was dismissed for a 50-ball 57, but Shehzad remained unbeaten on 73 from 58 balls with eight fours. Earlier, Australia U-16s, put into bat, collapsed after a blistering 93-run first-wicket stand from 62 balls between Ryley Smith (43 off 31 balls) and Devlin Webb (38 off 33 balls) to be bowled out for 153.

In the second half of the innings, Australia’s lost all their 10 wickets for just 60 runs, with captain Umer Eman proving to be the destroyer-in-chief with figures of three for 30. Kashif Ali picked up two wickets and Ali Asfand and Aaliyan Mehmood bagged a wicket apiece.

Apart from Smith and Webb, captain Jamison Murphy (19) and Nivethan Radhakrishnan 27 were the other two batsmen who reached double figures. Scores: Australia U-16s 153 in 20 overs (Ryley Smith 43, Devlin Webb 38, Nivethan Radhakrishnan 27; Umer Eman 3-30, Kashif Ali 2-5) Pakistan U-16s 154-4 in 20 overs (Muhammad Shehzad 73 not out, Sameer Saqib 57)