U-19 World Cup: Pakistan, SA face off in quarterfinal today

CHRISTCHURCH: The second Super League quarterfinal of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, 2018, scheduled for Wednesday features two teams that have been blowing hot and cold over the course of the tournament.

Pakistan, who finished at the top of Group D despite their loss to Afghanistan, are up against South Africa, the second best team from Group A, in the knockout clash at the Hagley Oval here.

Pakistan’s campaign began in a disastrous fashion as they lacked any substantial contribution with the bat, barring Rohail Nazir’s 81, to go down by five wickets to Afghanistan. Despite winning their next two matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka, the victories were largely because of the bowlers’ persistence - with Shaheen Afridi, Suleman Shafqat and skipper Hasan Khan doing the bulk of the damage - while the batsmen are yet to fire all guns. Ali Zaryab is the only other half-centurion apart from Nazir, while the rest haven’t really made their presence felt. The encounter against South Africa is the last chance for Pakistan’s batsmen to get their affairs in order if they are to extend their team’s journey in the World Cup.

South Africa, on the other hand, began their campaign with an easy win against Kenya, with their bowling and batting firing in unison. The ‘obstructing the field’ incident came as an unwanted distraction, which South Africa put behind them to knock Windies out of the tournament. They have had different batsmen put their hands up at different times while Hermann Rolfes has impressed with his all-round skills. However, a top-order collapse against New Zealand in their previous encounter, which eventually cost them the game, will give South Africa some worries.

Rolfes has led the charge with the ball for South Africa along with contributions from the likes of Jade de Klerk, Akhona Mnyaka and Thando Ntini. Collective performances will be the prime focus of South Africa as the 2016 champions will look to make up for their early exit in the previous edition by furthering their progress in the 2018 edition.

Maximum of 28 degree Celsius with no rain forecast. Only one match has been played at the Hagley Oval so far in this competition, which was the game between New Zealand and Kenya. The hosts had amassed 436 in that game - the second highest total in Youth ODIs - and batting friendly conditions are likely to be on offer again.

Squads: South Africa: Jiveshan Pillay, Matthew Breetzke, Raynard van Tonder (c), Hermann Rolfes, Wandile Makwetu (w), Jean du Plessis, Andile Mokgakane, Jade de Klerk, Fraser Jones, Thando Ntini, Kgaudise Molefe, Jason Niemand, Gerald Coetzee, Kenan Smith, Akhona Mnyaka

Pakistan: Zaid Alam, Rohail Nazir (w), Ammad Alam, Ali Zaryab, M Taha, Saad Khan, Hasan Khan (c), Shaheen Afridi, M Musa, Suleman Shafqat, Arshad Iqbal, M Mohsin Khan, Munir Riaz, Imran Shah, M Ali Khan.