Ali Zaryab guides Pakistan to U-19 World Cup semifinals

Ali Zaryab Pic PCB official twitter accountAli Zaryab hit a composed 74 to complement the hard work done by pacers Muhamad Musa and Shaheen Afridi as Pakistan notched up a threewicket win over South Africa in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Super League quarterfinal here today Lefthanded Zaryab compiled a cautious but attractive 111ball unbeaten knock with five fours that took twotime champions Pakistan to their target of 190 in 475 overs after the paceduo of Musa and Shaheen had shared five scalps to help restrict South Africa to 189 for nineThe victory over the 2014 champions means Pakistan will now play the winners of Fridays quarterfinal between India and Bangladesh in the second semifinal here on January 30 The 2004 and 2006 champions have to be thankful to Zaryab who was not perturbed even as the Asian side was reduced to 111 for five after allrounder Jason Niemand gave South Africa a glimmer of a hope with the wickets of captain Hassan Khan and Muhammad TahaBut in Saad Khan 26 62b 3x4 Zaryab found an able partner and added 65 crucial runs for the sixth wicket which proved to be decisive in a lowscoring affair This was Zaryabs third halfcentury in the tournament and second successive player of the match award after his 59 in another lowscoring match against Sri Lanka had ensured Pakistan not only qualified for the Super League but eventually topped their group ahead of AfghanistanEarlier in the day Pakistan fast bowlers Musa and Shaheen justified Hassans decision to bowl first as they made deep inroads into a strong South Africas batting lineup Shaheen struck as soon as he was introduced into the attack in the sixth over and along with newball bowler Musa seized the initiative for his team Shaheen struck two telling blows as he removed openers Matthew Breetzke 12 and Jiveshan Pillay 14 just as they looked to be batting themselves in Shaheen got Breetzke to edge one to wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir and then bowled Pillay with an inswinger that went through taking the inside edge of the batThe pair of dismissals took Shaheens tally in the tournament to 11 the jointhighest along with Canadas Faisal Jamkhandi Musa was not the one to be left behind as he chipped in with the wickets of captain Raynard van Tonder 4 and Hermann Rolfes 5 as South Africa were left reeling at 43 for four in the 15th over Van Tonder was caught at midoff off a leading edge while Rolfes was caught behind the wicket off an inner edge Musa also dismissed a wellset Makwetu 60 65b 4x4 1x6 out pulling the ball to further reduce South Africas chances of a fightbackA couple of run outs and some good support from the spin bowlers kept Pakistan in tight control of the proceedings Pakistan captain Hassan Khan said he was hoping his team would bat better in upcoming matches while praising his players We could have finished it more easily but I think it is a learning experience for all of us Hopefully we will learn from the mistakes and not repeat them in the next match The way they Musa and Shaheen have bowled throughout and the way they have bowled today is outstanding Im relaxed with the boys the way they are bowling and really happy and looking forward to other matches today He Zaryab is the wall for our Pakistan U19 team The way he has batted today and in the previous match as well I hope he will continue his form and do well in the next few matches as wellAli Zaryab said this was the biggest moment of his career so far I was always confident I could win the match and knew I had to aim to bat the full 50 overs This is a huge win for us a moralebooster since it was a big knockout match he said The game was broadcast live and the whole world was watching us There cant be a better feeling and the whole team is now looking ahead to the semifinals with confidence South Africa captain Raynard Van Tonde lamented his teams inept batting Our top order did not step up today Our middle order batted us to a decent position but we were some 20 runs short As a batting unit we have not really stood up We put ourselves in trouble with the bat in every game he saidThe contentreporting displayed on our websitewwwmiddaycomis provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE by us from third party agencies sources without any verification from our side It may contain error bugs and other limitations The readers can rely on the content at their own will Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability data text images video messages or any other material whatsoever or for any claimslossaction that the reader may suffer as a result of relying on the content on our site Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeverCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go