Under 19 World Cup Day 13 – Uganda secure first win, UAE stuns West Indies

Uganda took their first win at an ICC global event in 16 years, beating Papua New Guinea in their 13^th place play-off semi-final. UAE took on hosts West Indies in the plate semi-final, and pulled off a stellar upset.

Uganda U19s (123 ao, Kakuru 65, Kariko 5/19) beat Papua New Guinea U19s (88 ao, Morea 26, Miyaji 4/29) by 35 runs

Uganda secured their first win in a low scoring match against PNG at Diego Martin Sports Complex, Trinidad. Having won the toss, Uganda chose to bat first, but it was PNG who controlled their early exchanges. Junior Morea and Rasan Kevau took a wicket each to account for the Ugandan openers, plus a run out by John Kariko had Uganda 20/3.

Uganda captain Pascal Murungi, and wicket-keeper Cyrus Kakuru combined at the crease for a fast 34-run partnership. Murungi managed 16 runs, before falling to Kariko at 54/4. From there, it was a one-man show on both sides. Kakuru kept up the assault for Uganda, scoring at roughly a-run-a-ball throughout his innings. Meanwhile Kariko chipped away with the ball for PNG, on his way to his first 5-wicket haul of the tournament.

Kakuru’s 50 took Uganda past the 100 mark, but with support slipping away, his attack saw him caught and bowled by Kariko at 117/8. Kariko completed his 5/19 spell two balls later, and Uganda were all out for 123 in the following over.

A 124-run chase looked within reach of PNG’s Garamuts, but any dreams were quickly dashed by a top-order collapse. Joseph Baguma snared two wickets in the 4^th over, immediately before a short break for rain. After the interruption, it was Juma Miyaji’s turn to take two in an over, as PNG fell to 24/4. Miyagi would then add a 3^rd to remove Christopher Kilapat, and then Matthew Musinguzi sent Malcolm Aporo back for 1. PNG were 6-down, for 27 runs, in less than 10 overs.

Any last hopes for PNG fell to Boio Ray and Junior Morea. Their approach was to counterattack, with Morea hitting 26 off 17 balls. Although the partnership only lasted 5 overs, Morea and Ray added 40 runs before Morea’s dismissal.

Ray continued to play shots against Baguma, but John Kariko suffered a non-strikers run-out without facing a ball for the 8^th wicket. Ray was eventually caught and bowled by Miyaji for 18, and Baguma wrapped up the final wicket in the 19^th over, PNG all out for 88.

UAE U19s (224/9, Afzal Khan 93, Sankar 3/31) beat West Indies U19s (142 ao, Edwards 51*, Parashar 4/30) by 82 runs

UAE pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, beating hosts West Indies in their plate semi-final.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first at Queen’s Park Oval, UAE found themselves under early pressure from the West Indies bowlers. Openers Aryansh Sharma and Kai Smith were both removed cheaply by Nathan Edwards and Shivar Sankar, as UAE fell to 24/2 in the 7^th over. Alishan Sharafu fell for a second-ball duck, and Punya Mehra made 1, as Sankar turned the screw.

From 26/4, Aayan Afzal Khan came to the crease, and showed positivity from his first ball. Wickets continued to fall around Afzal Khan, as Dhruv Parashar and Ali Naseer came and went for low scores. But with Shival Bawa, Afzal Khan was able to construct a significant partnership. The two took the score from 76/6 to 179/9, with Bawa out just after reaching his fifty. Khan pushed on, with assistance from Ronak Panoly (16), before he was dismissed 7 runs short of a century in the 49^th over. The UAE tail pushed the score up to a respectable 224/9.

Early wickets proved a theme in the West Indies’ reply, with Shaqkere Parris dismissed for 7 in the 2^nd over to Jash Giyanani. Ali Naseer dismissed Teddy Bishop for 6, and Giyanani removed Nandu for 7 and Jordan Johnson for 8 as the hosts found themselves 32/4 in reply.

West Indies looked to build themselves back into the contest through Kevin Wickham and Rivaldo Clarke. However, Parashar removed Clarke to start a collapse that took West Indies from 59/4 to 59/7. Parashar would add another two to his tally 4 overs later, by which point the hosts were 72/9.

The writing was on the wall, but it didn’t stop Nathan Edwards. The West Indies number 8 played positively for an unbeaten 50, building a 70-run stand with last-man Isia Thorne. It was first-innings hero Aayan Afzal Khan who claimed the final wicket, bowling Thorne to complete a famous 82-run win.

UAE advance to the plate final, where they will play Ireland or Zimbabwe.

COVID Outbreak cancels Canada’s games

Elsewhere, an outbreak of 9 COVID cases in the Canadian camp has seen their remaining matches abandoned. Saturday’s 13^th place play-off semi-final will not take place, with Scotland advancing to the 13^th place play-off against Uganda based on superior net run rate in the group stage. The 15^th place play-off between PNG and Canada will also not go ahead. The ICC is yet to declare final rankings for Canada and PNG.

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