Proteas, Kiwis claim knockout berths in Under-19 World Cup
tauranga — South Africa and New Zealand won their respective Group A matches to qualify for the knockout stages of the ICC U19 World Cup on Wednesday.
South Africa produced a superb all-round performance to defeat defending champions West Indies by 76 runs in a pulsating encounter at the Bay Oval Stadium here.
Asked to bat first, South Africa rode on an unbeaten run-a-ball 99 by Wandile Makwetu to post 282/8 in their 50 overs.
Pacer Hermann Rolfes then clinched a four-wicket haul as the Proteas dismissed the West Indies for 206 runs in 45.3 overs.
South Africa have thus booked a spot in the next round with four points from two matches. Even if they lose their last group match against hosts and table toppers New Zealand, the Proteas will go through as one of the top two teams. West Indies’ hopes of defending their crown has gone up in smoke as they are out of contention after losing both the matches they have played so far.
The controversial dismissal of South Africa opener Jiveshan Pillay for obstructing the field was one of the biggest talking points of the game. The incident took place during the 17th over of the South African innings when Pillay stopped the ball from going on to hit the stumps. He then immediately picked up the motionless ball and threw it to West Indies wicketkeeper and captain Emmanuel Stewart, who then appealed.
The on-field officials consulted the third umpire before Pillay was adjudged dismissed as per Law 37.4 of the MCC rules.
Meanwhile in Christchurch, New Zealand thrashed minnows Kenya by 243 runs.
Asked to bat first, the hosts piled up a massive total of 436/4 thanks to centuries by openers Jakob Bhula and Rachin Ravindra.
Bhula was the top scorer for the Kiwis with 180 runs off 144 balls, with 10 boundaries and five hits into the stands on the way. —