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U – 19 World Cup: Why a slow chase was better than a fast one for Pakistan against Zimbabwe
Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in their final group game of the 2026 Under 19World Cup in Harare, but did so in a manner that also endured Zimbabwe’s qualification to the Super Six, taking advantage of the tournament rules to give themselves the best net run rate possible in the next stage of the competition.
Zimbabwe’s qualification on net run rate, along with Pakistan in Group C, came at the expense of Scotland, who looked poised to qualify at the midway point of Pakistan’s chase of the target of 129. However, Pakistan slowed down significantly from the end of the 14th over onwards and ultimately got to the target in 26.2 overs: had they won before 25.2 overs, Scotland, not Zimbabwe, would have qualified for the Super Sixes.
Pakistan gained a significant net run rate advantage with Zimbabwe qualifying ahead of Scotland owing to the format of the Under-19 World Cup. The tournament rules stipulate that points and net run rate are carried forward from the group stage to the Super Sixes, but only from the matches between the sides that qualify from the group. Pakistan progressed with a better net run rate because they had beaten Zimbabwe by a bigger margin than they beat Scotland.
Former international Andy Flower, who was commentating on the game, defended Pakistan’s “cunning tactics” in the way they paced their run chase against Zimbabwe.
“I thought it was a justifiable tactic on their part,” Flower told ESPNcricinfo. “When they go through to the Super Sixes, they will take their net run rate, which will include the Zimbabwe game but doesn’t include the Scotland game. That means their net run rate is better than if Scotland went through.
“They needed to first establish they weren’t going to lose the game, and then they just slowed down to make sure Zimbabwe got through. Some people may question the ethics of that, but I personally don’t.”
Pakistan had beaten Scotland with 6.5 overs to spare. However, they were poised to get a much larger win against Zimbabwe, one that would not have benefitted them in the Super Six stage if Zimbabwe were eliminated from the group. With Pakistan taking the game to the 27th over, they took the advantage of carrying their net run rate forward for a win achieved with 23.4 overs remaining, rather than one with 6.5 overs to spare. Moreover, they also deprived England, who topped group C, of the net run rate boost they got by beating Scotland by 252 runs in the group stage.
If Pakistan’s attempt to pace their chase in that manner was deemed as deliberate, that could conceivably constitute a breach of the ICC laws. Law 2.11 states that “any attempt to manipulate an international match for inappropriate strategic or tactical reasons” is a Level 2 Code of Conduct offence. However, proving that the slowdown was deliberate could be extremely difficult.
By the end of the 14th over against Zimbabwe, Pakistan had sped along to 84 in pursuit of 129, needing just 45 in 11.2 overs. However, from that point onwards, Sameer Minhas and Ahmed Hussain slowed down, their attacking intent visibly disappearing. They scored only 36 in the next 12 overs, with 89 balls going by without a boundary.
Flower, who was on commentary during the latter stages of Pakistan’s chase, suggested they were aware of the net run rate calculations. “The last ten overs or so, Pakistan have played a cunning game,” he said. “The way Pakistan are going about business, they are probably aware of the fact that if they qualify for the super six along with Zimbabwe, they carry through a better net run rate as opposed to with Scotland.
Pakistan’s attacking intent returned as soon as Zimbabwe’s place in the Super Sixes was secured. With nine required to win, Minhas, the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 74, clobbered Michael Blignaut for two successive sixes over long-on to finish off the game.
As qualification slipped out of Scotland’s grasp, Flower said on air that it “must be hard for Scotland to be watching this”.
However, he defended Pakistan’s strategy of giving themselves the biggest advantage in the next round. “I think it was a fair tactic and didn’t bring the game into disrepute,” he told ESPNcricinfo.
During the 1999 ODI World Cup, Steve Waugh had attempted a similar strategy during Australia’s chase against West Indies at Old Trafford, to gain the advantage of carrying forward points into the Super Six round.
[Cricinfo]
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Trump says he has ‘cancelled’ strikes against Iran and talks up possible agreement
Donald Trump says he has “cancelled” strikes against Iran saying negotiations with Tehran were “brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved”
“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved,” Trump says – elaborating further in remarks in the Oval Office.
However, Iran says a deal is yet to be finalised and earlier warned the US of an “endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years” about more strikes
[BBC]
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Taskin, Mustafizur set up famous series win for Bangladesh
Bangladesh secured their first ODI series victory against Australia after they won the second ODI by five wickets in Dhaka, chasing down a rain-adjusted target of 192 having earlier removed the visitors’ first three wickets before they had scored a run.
Australia reached 187 for 8 in 42 overs when rain came, but had done well to reach that far becoming just the fourth team in ODI history to be 0 for 3. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman did the early damage and finished with three wickets each. Australia hung on through fifties from Marnus Labuschagne and Xavier Bartlett who rescued them with a 103-run seventh-wicket stand.
Buoyed by his maiden half-century, Bartlett bowled an inspired first over when play resumed. A big appeal off the first ball was followed by Tanzid Hasan giving a simple return catch. Bartlett then dropped Najmul Hossain Shanto off the fifth ball, although it was a tough chance, before the umpire raised the finger to an lbw appeal on the last ball but Shanto’s review saved him with the ball missing leg stump.
The recalled Soumya Sarkar got Bangladesh going with a lofted cover drive in the third over. He repeated the dose against Nathan Ellis in the next over then Shanto took consecutive boundaries off Bartlett in the fifth over.
Three more boundaries followed in as many overs, including Soumya hoisting Ellis over square leg for a six. Shanto survived a half chance on 21 when Labuschagne dropped a tough opportunity at short midwicket. Soumya then went after Adam Zampa, climbing into a high six over long-on.
It was the part-timer Matt Renshaw who got Australia the much-needed breakthrough in the 16th over. Soumya’s reverse paddle was poorly executed and he gave Bartlett a simple catch at slip. Shanto followed soon after, caught behind off Riley Meredith, who was returning to the ODI side after five years.
Cameron Green made a further blow when he removed Litton Das with a snorter that took the glove after a brisk 21. Mosaddek Hossain, Bangladesh’s batting hero from the first game, played his shots from the start before giving Cooper Connolly a simple catch at long-off.
At 144 for 5, with a only the bowlers to come, the game was not quite closed out. However, captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz withstood a blow to the side of the head to help Towhid Hridoy in the remaining part of the chase. The game ended up finishing in a rush as Hridoy hooked Meredith for a six followed by a pulled boundary then Mehidy sealed victory with another hook that cleared the boundary.
The opening exchanges of the match were remarkable. Taskin set off one of the most extraordinary starts seen in Bangladesh when he clean bowled Matthew Short for the second consecutive innings, this time the batter leaving the ball from a good length. It meant Short had fallen for a duck three innings in a row, starting from the third ODI against Pakistan in Lahore.
Connolly followed in the next over when he fell first ball to Mustafizur. The delivery was going slightly away from the left-handed Connolly who provided the thin edge. Renshaw fell in a similar way at the end of the same over, and Australia hadn’t opened their scoring.
They were reduced to 25 for 4 in the eighth over when Mustafizur got Alex Carey to drive one uppishly at point, where Shanto took the simple catch. Mustafizur picked up three wickets in the powerplay for only the second time in his ODI career.
Captain Josh Inglis tried to salvage the situation, striking five boundaries including a beautiful square-cut six off the Nahid Rana. He timed the ball well during his 34 but left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam neutralised his threat when Inglis’ miscued inside-out shot found deep cover. Tanvir wasn’t done, removing Green with a caught-and-bowled dismissal in the 22nd over.
Australia’s resistance came in the form of a seventh-wicket stand between Labuschagne and Bartlett. Labuschagne, who had been moved down to No. 7 and should have been run out on 1, struck three fours in his unbeaten 55 off 85 balls. It was just his second ODI fifty since the 2023 World Cup final.
Bartlett, who walked in at 81 for 6, was the aggressor and struck six boundaries including two huge sixes over midwicket in his 52 off 48 balls.
Taskin broke the partnership in the 41st over, cleaning up Bartlett with an in-ducker. Next ball he bowled a big off-cutter to fox Zampa. They were important blows because it meant the DLS target was more in Bangladesh’s favour after a two-and-a-half hour delay.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 195 for 5 (Soumya Sarkar 42, Najmul Hosain Shanto 42, Towhid Hridoy 40*; Cameron Green 1-09) beat Australia 187 for 8 in 42 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 55*, Xavier Bartlett 52; Mustafizur Rahman 3-27, Taskin Ahmed 3-33, Tanvir Islam 2-45) by five wickets [DLS method]
[Cricinfo]
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Accordingly,
LEVEL I [YELLOW] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Palindanuwara in the Kalutara district, Doluwa in the Kandy district, Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ayagama, Ratnapura, Godakawela, Kalawana and Nivitigala in the Ratnapura district
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