Pakistan finish third in U19 World Cup

QUEENSTOWN: Pakistan finished their 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup as the third-placed team, having finished above Afghanistan in the group stages as the third-place play-off at the John Davies Oval was abandoned without a ball bowled on Thursday after heavy overnight rain and a persistent morning drizzle, says an ICC release.

Pakistan’s higher-ranked finish in Group D means Afghanistan have to settle for fourth after third-place play-off is washed out.The rain beat down hard overnight in Queenstown, ensuring play would be delayed to start with even if there was no downpour in the morning.

The umpires scheduled an inspection for 11.15am local time, 45 minutes after the scheduled start of play. However, rain reappeared and proved relentless, and there was no option but to abandon proceedings.

That was good news for Pakistan. They were automatically awarded third-place, having finished atop Group D on net run-rate. Afghanistan finished second. In hindsight, Ireland had a massive say in the third-place play-off — Pakistan’s nine-wicket victory over them boosted their run-rate beyond the reach of the rest of the group, while Ireland’s four-run win over Afghanistan in the final Group game meant the latter had to settle for second spot.

The washout also meant that there are now just two spots remaining to be determined in the 2018 ICC U19 CWC — that of the winners and the runners-up. The final will be played between India and Australia in Mount Maunganui tomorrow (Saturday).