While England defeated New Zealand by 65 runs, a record-breaking 163 by Faisal Khan powered Afghanistan to a 191-run win over Ireland on Friday.
Australia had already progressed to the final four from Group 1 and Afghanistan grabbed the remaining spot. With England continuing their unbeaten run in the tournament, they became the first team from Group 2 to advance. That makes the marquee clash between India and Pakistan colts on Sunday even more important, as only one of them can go through.
India has the slight edge as they have six points from three matches. Though Pakistan trail their arch-rivals by two points and have an inferior net run-rate, they can still edge India out if they win big.
Faisal Khan steps up to the challenge
With a semifinal berth hanging in balance, Faisal Khan stepped up to the challenge for Afghanistan in Harare. He scored the lion’s share of runs as Afghanistan motored to 315/7 in their 50 overs.
Playing with controlled aggression, Faisal struck 18 fours and a six on his way to 163 off 142 balls. It was the highest individual score by an Afghan batter in tournament history.
After electing to bat, Afghanistan found themselves in a spot of bother at 27/2. A 75-run third-wicket partnership between Faisal with Uzairullah Niazai helped control the damage. Then Afghanistan seized control as Faisala and captain Mahboob Khan joined forces. While runs flowed steadily from both ends, they chose their moments for the big hits as they put on 188 runs for the fourth wicket.
Khan fell in the final over while trying to slog, but he contributed a vital 89 runs (79 balls) to his team’s cause.
For Ireland, it was the pacers Reuben Wilson and Olly Riley who did most of the damage, picking three wickets apiece.
Ireland failed to mount a real challenge in chase and were skittled out for 124 runs. Marko Bates (34) and Wilson (31) offered some resistance, as they put up 55 runs for the sith wicket. But it was too little too late as Ireland failed to scale the mountain of runs ahead of them.
After pacer Abdul Aziz (3/21) had blunted the threat from the top order, leg-break bowler Aqil Khan quelled a late challenge with three wickets for 36 runs.
It was a masterful performance from Afghanistan, and just the kind of momentum they needed going into the business end of the tournament.
England keep their slate clean
Out of semifinal contentions, New Zealand had only pride to play for. On a tricky wicket in Bulawayo, New Zealand restricted England to 234/7 after electing to field first.
Slow and steady seemed to be the mantra for the English colts on Friday. Ben Dawkins helped England navigate the opening phase of the innings, scoring a cautious 42 off 62 balls. Picking up the baton from him, Ben Mayes (53) and Caleb Faloner (47) kept the scoreboard ticking and made sure England posted a respectable total.
Led by pacer Mason Clarke (2-38), New Zealand put in an efficient bowling performance.
It wasn’t a daunting total, but a match-winning performance by medium pacer Manny Lumsden turned the match on its head. Lumsden finished with incredible figures of 5-17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 169 in 38.5 overs.
The only time New Zealand looked like making a match of it was when Senith Reddy was at the crease. The youngster mustered up 47 runs, and was involved in a 58-run stand for the sixth wicket with Callum Samson.
