Another Maphaka masterclass as SA u19 storms past Zimbabwe
Kwena Maphaka equalled the record for the most five-wicket hauls in a single ICC u19 Cricket World Cup after bagging his second five-for of the tournament against Zimbabwe.
After topping Group B, ahead of England and the West Indies, South Africa opened their Super Sixes account with a dominant performance to win by nine wickets.
Opening the attack, Maphaka struck early, capturing three wickets before Ronak Patel (32) and Ryan Kamwemba (24) were finally able to offer some resistance for the Zimbabweans.
A bowling change, however, saw Tristan Luus strike and remove both Patel and his captain, Matthew Schonken, while Riley Norton ratcheted up the pressure from the other end, bowling successive maidens before sending Kamwemba back to the sheds.
Mashford Shungu survived 47 deliveries to frustrate SA at the tail-end, but Maphaka carried his exceptional form into the second half of his spell to send the wickets of two more Zimbabwean batsmen flying.
Debutant, Raeeq Daniels, who came in as a replacement for the injured Martin Khumalo, took the final catch to end Shungu’s innings, and with that the Zimbabwean batting effort was over, too.
With South Africa’s neighbours having been despatched for only 102, Lhuan-dré Pretorius and Steve Stolk wasted no time in launching the South African reply.
In just 10 overs, the duo raced to 86 before Stolk lost his wicket.
Pretorius produced his best knock of the tournament thus far, scoring 53 not out from 39 balls, with nine fours and a six, to drive South Africa to victory in the 14th over, with David Teeger (10*) in support.
In an extremely competitive pool, where the net run rate might very well come into play again, it was an encouraging start for the home side, but there remains plenty of hard work ahead for the young Proteas.
Coach Malibongwe Maketa‘s charges won’t have time to celebrate their lopsided win. They’re back in action again on Friday against Sri Lanka.
On Tuesday, India sent a loud and clear message to their rivals by thumping New Zealand in the opening match of the Super Sixes.
Musheer Khan scored a massive 131 runs to help his side to a fourth win on the trot. The five-time champions, who are defending the title they won in the West Indies in 2022, are one of the favourites heading into the business end of the competition.
The West Indies, meanwhile, left it to the third delivery of the last over of their match to chase down Sri Lanka‘s 231, while Ahmad Hassan drove Pakistan to a win over Ireland with an undefeated 57.
Super Sixes Summarised Scorecards
Zimbabwe u19 102/10 (Ronak Patel 32, Ryan Kamwemba 24; Kwena Maphaka 5/34, Tristan Luus 3/25); South Africa u19 103/1 (Lhuan-dré Pretorius 53*, Steve Stolk 37; Anesu Kamuriwo 1/31). South Africa won by nine wickets.
India u19 295/8 (Musheer Khan 131, Adarsh Singh 52, Uday Saharan 34; Mason Clarke 4/62); New Zealand u19 81/10 (Oscar Jackson 19; Saumy Pandey 4/19, Musheer Khan 2/10, Raj Limbani 2/17). India u19 won by 214 runs.
Sri Lanka u19 231/10 (Dinura Kalupahana 53, Malsha Tharupathi 42, Supun Waduge 31, Pulindu Perera 24, Extras 23; Raneico Smith 4/47, Nathan Edward 2/47); West Indies u19 232/7 (Steve Wedderburn 61, Jordan Johnson 39, Stephan Pascal 33, Nathan Sealy 27*; Vishwa Lahiru 2/32, Dinura Kalupahana 2/39, Sineth Jayawardena 2/39). West Indies u19 won by three wickets.
Ireland u19 181/10 (John McNally 53, Harry Dyer 31; Ubaid Shah 3/31, Ali Raza 2/18, Amir Hassan 2/34, Ahmad Hassan 2/37); Pakistan u19 182/7 (Ahmad Hassan 57*, Haroon Arshad 25, Saad Baig 25, Azan Awais 21; Harry Dyer 4/35). Pakistan u19 won by three wickets.
