Pakistan beat South Africa by three wickets to enter the semi-finals of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup on Wednesday. Winning the toss, Pakistan opted to field first at Christchurch.

South Africa were off to a disastrous start as they were 4/43 within 15 overs. However, Wandile Makwetu played a valiant knock of 60 with Jean du Plessis and Jason Nieman scored 21 and 36 respectively. However, they could only reach 189/9 after 50 overs.

For Pakistan, Muhammad Musa and Shaheen Shah Afridi were the picked of the bowlers taking 3/29 and 2/30 respectively. Pakistan captain Hasan Khan and Arshad Iqbal chipped in with one wicket apiece. Ali Zaryab smashed 74 runs as Pakistan chased the target down with three wickets to spare. “I was always confident I could win the match and knew I had to aim to bat the full 50 overs. This is a huge win for us, a morale-booster since it was a big knock-out match,” said Zaryab.

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The victory over the 2014 champions means Pakistan will now play the winners of Friday’s quarter-final between India and Bangladesh in the second semi-final in Christchurch on 30 January 30. “We could have finished it more easily but I think it is a learning experience for all of us. Hopefully, we will learn from the mistakes and not repeat them in the next match. The way they (Musa and Shaheen) have bowled throughout and the way they have bowled today is outstanding. He (Zaryab) is the wall for our Pakistan U19 team. I hope he will continue his form and do well in the next few matches as well,” said Khan.

South Africa captain Raynard Van Tonde lamented his team’s inept batting. “Our top order did not step up today. Our middle order batted us to a decent position but we were some 20 runs short. As a batting unit we have not really stood up. We put ourselves in trouble with the bat in every game,” he said.