Pakistan U19 vs South Africa U19, Super League Quarter-Final 2 (D1 v A2), ICC Under 19 World Cup, 2018 - CommentaryPAKU19 vs RSAU19, Super League Quarter-Final 2 (D1 v A2), ICC Under 19 World Cup, 2018 - Commentary

Oh, the enigma of the New Zealand pitches. After a total of 436 in the last match hosted by the Hagley Oval, we've had a match which didn't get close to that run tally across both innings. Another exhibition of excellent fast bowling from the seemingly never-ending stock of pacers in Pakistan and a stoic (albeit not entirely convincing) batting performance to wrap things up. On that note, this is Rishi Roy (@_rrroy_), signing off on behalf of my excited-yet-sleepy co-commentators Abhinand Raghavendran, Sriram AS, and our scorer Siva. It was a pleasure bringing you the action, and we do hope you join us for the remainder of the tournament. We'll be back with the coverage of the third quarter-final between the hosts and Afghanistan from the Hagley Oval at the same time tomorrow. Until then, it's au revoir from us, as we attempt to catch up on some sleep...

Hasan Khan, Pakistan captain: It's a great feeling qualifying for the semi-finals. Our bowlers did really well. It was our plan to restrict them to as little as possible, as I mentioned during the toss. The way Zaryab stood there like a rock was great and I hope he can carry on the form in the remaining matches too. The team is confident and we will try to correct and minimize our mistakes - especially the irresponsible shots by the batsmen. Hopefully we can do better in the semi-finals...

Raynard van Tonder, South Africa captain: I thought the batsmen didn't step up today. We were in trouble losing four wickets early and it was quite tough to get back into the game. Wandile Makwetu played a good innings. I felt 220 could have been different, but losing wickets upfront put us in a bit of pressure. We really worked hard but didn't execute our plans well enough. We weren't good enough today. Ali played a big innings, credit to him.

Ali Zaryab, player of the match: We restricted them quickly and 189 is a below-par total on this wicket. I just prepared myself to play the 50 overs. I told him (Saad) to be there till the end and not to play any rash shots. This is my best moment. I'm happy with my performances in this tournament.

17:50 Local Time: What a thriller! The most anticlimactic finish one could think of, but after Pakistan's supreme bowling kept the Proteas to 189, South Africa continued to pick wickets at regular intervals and came out all guns blazing at the Pakistan batting line-up, which has been shaky throughout the tournament. Pakistan threatened to make a match out of this, and a partnership between Saad Khan and Zaryab finally stabilized the innings, bringing the target within reach. Even at the end, with 2 quick wickets, the energetic South African side hadn't quite given up, but a couple of shots, fortuitous or not, were enough to get Pakistan over the line. Commiserations to South Africa and congratulations to Pakistan. Before my short nap in the beginning, I had mentioned that Pakistan had a knack of surprising us, and this was an exhibition of their ability...

Slip is in

P.S.: If the game is tied, Pakistan are through, since they topped their group and RSA did not...