Pakistan win toss, opt to bowl against Scotland in U19 World Cup clash

Harare, JAN 19 /DNA/: Pakistan on Monday won the toss and elected to bowl first against Scotland in the 12th match of the ongoing ICC Men’s Under 19 World Cup at the Takashinga Sports Club, Highfield.

Historically, Pakistan and Scotland have faced each other three times in Youth ODIs, with Pakistan emerging victorious in all three games.

    Matches played: 03

    Pakistan U19 won: 03

    Scotland U19 won: 00

Both sides last met in the 2020 edition of the U19 World Cup, where Pakistan won by seven wickets.

Batting first, Scotland were bowled out for 75 runs in 23.5 overs, courtesy of an exceptional bowling performance by the Pakistan U19 team.

Mohammad Wasim led the attack with 5/12 in 7.5 overs, followed by Tahir Hussain with three wickets, Abbas Afridi with two, and Aamir Ali with one.

Pakistan chased down the total, losing three wickets in 11.4 overs. Irfan Khan top-scored with 38 off 37 deliveries, including six fours, while captain Rohail Nazir contributed 27 off 23 deliveries.

Both teams will aim for a win to boost their chances of advancing in the U19 World Cup. Pakistan lost their opener against England, while the Scotland-Zimbabwe clash was called off due to rain.

Squads

Pakistan: Farhan Yousaf (c), Usman Khan, Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor, Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan, Niqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas and Umar Zaib.

Scotland: Thomas Knight (c), Finlay Carter, Max Chaplin, George Cutler, Rory Grant, Finlay Jones, Ollie Jones, Olly Pillinger, Ethan Ramsay, Theo Robinson, Manu Saraswat, Ram Sharma, Shreyas Tekale, Shlok Thaker and Jake Woodhouse.