Pakistan crush USA in second U19 World Cup warm-up match

BULAWAYO: Sameer Minhas's blistering half-century, followed by a collective bowling effort, led Pakistan to a thumping 69-run victory over the United States of America (USA) in the warm-up match of the ICC Men's U19 World Cup 2026 here at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Tuesday.

Put into bat first, the Green Shirts registered a formidable total of 294/8 in their allotted 50 overs.

Leading the way for the two-time champions was their in-form opener Minhas, who top-scored with a brisk 74 off 55 deliveries, studded with eight fours and four sixes.

His brilliance was backed by all-rounders Ahmed Hussain and Huzaifa Ahsan, who made 43 and 38, respectively, while Ali Hasan Baloch gave a late push to Pakistan's total with a quickfire 36-run cameo, which came off 19 deliveries and featured three sixes and two fours.

Utkarsh Srivastava led the USA's bowling charge with three wickets, followed by Adit Kappa, who bagged two, while Sabrish Prasad and Shiv Shani made one scalp apiece.

Set to chase a daunting 295-run target, USA's batting unit could muster 225 before getting bowled out in 43.5 overs despite opener Sahil Garg's anchoring half-century.

Garg oversaw USA's innings until the fourth delivery of the 30th over and walked back after top-scoring with an 83-ball 75, comprising nine fours and a six.

He also shared a 66-run partnership for the third wicket with captain Utkarsh Srivastava, who made 36 off 42 deliveries.

Following the dismissal of the opening batter, the USA began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and eventually succumbed to a thumping defeat in the preparatory fixture.

Meanwhile, middle-order batter Nitish Sudini offered notable resistance during the collapse with a 40-ball 34, featuring four fours.

For Pakistan, Abdul Subhan, Momin Qamar and Ahmed picked up two wickets each, while Ali Raza, Niqab Shafiq, Daniyal Ali Khan and Usman Khan shared four between them.

It is pertinent to mention that the reigning Asian champions will start their U19 World Cup 2026 campaign against England in Harare on Friday.