England, Afghanistan qualify for U19 WC semifinals

England continued to remain unbeaten in the Under-19 World Cup and sealed their place in the last four after swatting New Zealand aside in Bulawayo. England adapted to a surface that was difficult to bat on and scored a competitive 234 runs before winning by 65 runs with ease. With a 48-run stand, England's openers gave their team a solid foundation despite not getting off to a good start. Ben Dawkins and Ben Mayes continued their relationship after Joseph Moores left for 20. They formed a new successful partnership. But in the second half of the innings, New Zealand came back with regular strikes, stopping the batting team's momentum. Mayes scored a half-century and Caleb Falconer scored a crucial 47, but Farhan Ahmed's cameo of 29* off just 23 balls eventually increased the scoring rate. In reply, New Zealand made a poor start in pursuit of 235. In just one over, Manny Lumsden took two wickets, and New Zealand was bowled out for 64/4 thanks to an unnecessary run out. Snehith Reddy, who had taken a few wickets with the ball, tried to restart the chase with a spirited 47, but when he left, the English bowling attack had a much easier time. In the 39th over, Lumsden ended New Zealand's struggles by taking five wickets off consecutive deliveries. Afghanistan vs Ireland The highlight of Afghanistan's historic victory over Ireland that secured their spot in the semifinals was Faisal Khan's extraordinary century. By the end of the third over, Faisal had walked out to bat and scored 163 runs in 142 balls. He was only run out in the 48th over and almost batted the entire innings. He played in a huge team with Mahboob Khan, who hit 89 runs off 79 balls. Even though Ireland took a few wickets in the closing stages, Afghanistan had already reached 300 and were in a strong position. Abdul Aziz then came out with the ball to put Ireland under more pressure. Having made just 7 runs from the first four overs, Ireland were reduced to 21/3 in the ninth over with Aziz striking twice. Ireland lost half of their team for 53 as the wickets continued to fall. Marko Bates and Reuben Wilson arrested the slide for a brief period with a fighting half-century partnership but it only managed to delay the inevitable. From 108/5 to 124 all out, Ireland succumbed real quick to lose the contest by a massive margin of 191 runs.