Ali Zaryab Is The Wall For Pakistan Under-19 Cricket Team: Hasan Khan

Pakistan Under-19 captain Hasan Khan has hailed Ali Zaryab as the “wall” of the team after the latter played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 74 to guide the two-time champions to a thrilling win in the quarterfinal over South Africa on Wednesday (January 24).

Chasing a modest 190, Pakistan were in a spot of bother after being reduced 111 for five but eventually chased down the target with 13 balls remaining to win the game by three wickets.  Before the knock against South Africa, Zaryab had made a nerveless 59 against Sri Lanka after a middle-order collapse in a must-win final league match.

“He’s the wall for Pakistan Under-19 cricket team,” said Hasan after the game. “The way he batted today and in the previous match as well, I hope he continues that form and does well in the next few matches.”

Zaryab, who was adjudged the Man of the Match, further stated that he was looking to play out the full quota of overs and also spoke on his game plan.

“I was only thinking about playing the 50 overs,” Zaryab explained. “If I play 50 overs, I knew I could chase this on my own. My game is to start with singles and score heavily against bad balls, that was my game plan.”

South Africa skipper Raynard van Tonder also praised Zaryab, saying:

“Under the circumstances, it was a fantastic innings from him. He batted really well and was quite calm under pressure. He showed great maturity to finish the game for them, so well done to him.”

Pakistan could potentially face India in the semi-final if the three-time champions manage to beat Bangladesh. India has been one of the most dominating teams in the tournament so far, winning two of their three games by ten wickets and by 100 runs. Hasan, however, is not bothered by the in-form Indian side and is looking forward to doing well.

“As I said at the start of the World Cup, any team can do anything,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the match, we’re not worried about which team we’re facing, we’ll stick to our basics and hopefully we’ll do well.”

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