KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20: Hosts Malaysia surprisingly beat Zimbabwe by 70 runs to raise a rare cheer for the minnows as established teams flexed their muscles in the ICC Cricket Under-19 World Cup here on Wednesday.
On a day when unfancied Papua New Guinea, Namibia and Ireland fell by the wayside, Malaysia put up a spirited display to give themselves an outside chance of advancing to the quarter-finals.
Shahid Aslan shone for the hosts with an unbeaten 40 and three wickets as Malaysia, restricted to 194-8, bowled out Zimbabwe for 124 in a Group ‘A’ match in Johor.
Malaysian captain Ahmad Faiz was the top-scorer with 50, while his team-mates Aminuddin Ramly and Nik Azril claimed two wickets each to stun the African side.
Malaysia must, however, beat New Zealand in their last league match on Thursday to join defending champions Pakistan in the quarter-finals.
In other matches, the outsiders were given a cricketing lesson as Test nations Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the West Indies powered to easy wins.
The West Indies rattled up 319 against Papua New Guinea, the highest total in this edition so far, with Steven Jacobs smashing 101 off 86 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and two sixes.
Darren Bravo, younger brother of West Indian star Dwayne, hit 59 while Keiran Powell, who has played Twenty20 cricket at the senior level, plundered 60 off 35 balls at the top of the order.
Papua New Guinea, who qualified as the East-Asia Pacific champions, managed only 143 in reply to lose by 176 runs and suffer their second consecutive defeat in Group ‘B’.
The West Indies, who previously lost to South Africa, need a win over India on Friday to force a three-way tie from the group.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, meanwhile, recorded emphatic wins to qualify for the knock-out rounds from their respective groups.
Sri Lanka brushed aside Namibia by 163 runs in a Group ‘C’ match in Penang for their second successive win.
Lahiru Thirimanne and Roshen Silva cracked half-centuries as Sri Lanka piled up 247-7 and restricted Namibia to 84 with Sachith Pathirana claiming four wickets and seamer Denuwan Fernando three.
The Sri Lankans face fellow qualifiers Australia on Friday to determine the group leaders.
Bangladesh thumped Ireland by eight wickets in Group ‘D’ to warm up for Friday’s clash against England that will decide the top spot in the group.
Off-spinner Mahmudul Hasan claimed 4-17 as Ireland were shot out for 123, a target Bangladesh surpassed in the 23rd over with Ashraful Hossain making an unbeaten 71.
Summarised scores:
Group A
Malaysia beat Zimbabwe by 70 runs in Johor
MALAYSIA 194-8 in 50 overs (Ahmad Faiz 50, Shahid Aslan 40 not out; Daniel Landman 3-34); ZIMBABWE 124 in 38.4 overs (Shahid Aslan 3-41, Aminuddin Ramly 2-20, Nik Azril 2-15).
Group B
West Indies beat Papua New Guinea by 176 runs in Kuala Lumpur
WEST INDIES 319 in 49.4 overs (Steven Jacobs 101, Kieran Powell 60, Darren Bravo 59; Lao Nou 4-63); PAPUA NEW GUINEA 143 in 37.1 overs (Tony Ura 32; Jason Dawes 4-25, Nkrumah Bonner 3-15).
Group C
Sri Lanka beat Namibia by 163 runs in Penang
SRI LANKA 247-7 in 50 overs (Lahiru Thirimanne 68, Roshan Silva 51 not out, Kusal Perera 46; Bernand Scholtz 2-32); NAMIBIA 84 in 32.4 overs (Sachith Pathirana 4-31, Denuwan Fernando 3-19, Navin Kavikara 2-22).
Group D
Bangladesh beat Ireland by eight wickets in Kuala Lumpur
IRELAND 123 in 43.4 overs (James Shannon 31; Mahmudul Hasan 4-17); BANGLADESH 126-2 in 22.3 overs (Ashraful Hossain 71 not out, Mohammad Mithun 31).
Thursday’s fixtures:
Group A: New Zealand v Malaysia.
Group B: South Africa v Papua New Guinea.
Group C: Nepal v Namibia.
Group D: Bermuda v Ireland.—AFP
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