Dubai, Feb 28:
South Africa will aim to break the title drought when they lock horns with two-time champion Pakistan in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, here tomorrow.
South Africa finished runner-up in the 2002 and 2008 tournaments while Pakistan remains the only side to win back-to-back titles when they triumphed in 2004 and 2006 in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively.
On head to head, the two sides have met only once in the history of this competition when South Africa defeated Pakistan by 98 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis Method in Kuala Lumpur in 2008.
South Africa is the only side which is unbeaten so far in the World Cup. They defeated the West Indies by 94 runs, Canada by 45 runs, Zimbabwe by seven wickets, Afghanistan by nine wickets in the quarter-final and Australia by 80 runs in the semi-final.
In contrast, Pakistan started their campaign with a 40-run defeat against India and then achieved victory from the jaws of defeat against England in the semi-final by three wickets. In between, they beat Scotland by 146 runs, Papua New Guinea by 145 runs and Sri Lanka in the quarter-final by 121 runs.
Pakistan’s run in the tournament has been dominated by captain Sami Aslam and Imam-ul-Haq, the two openers who have featured in three century partnerships to date. The left-handers have hit one century and five half-centuries between them.
Imam, who has recovered from a hamstring injury and will play on Saturday, is the tournament’s second leading run-getter with 370 runs, while Sami sits in 11th position with 242 runs. Hasan Raza with 135 runs and Saud Shakeel 123 runs are the other notable Pakistan batsmen. (PTI)
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