LAHORE: A four-fer by fast bowler Ali Raza and a century third-wicket partnership between Usman Khan and Ahmed Hussain scripted Pakistan Men’s U19’s six-wicket victory over Scotland Men’s U19 in a Group C match in Harare on Monday.

Ali Raza returned figures of 10-0-37-4 to restrict Scotland to 187 all-out in 48.1 overs. Usman Khan then scored an 85-ball 75, featuring five fours and two sixes, to help Pakistan achieve victory for the loss of four wickets in 43.1 overs. Usman was later adjudged player of the match.

This was Pakistan’s first win of the tournament, following a 37-run defeat against England on 16 January. Pakistan will now take on Zimbabwe on Thursday; a win will ensure they progress to the Super Six stage, which commences on 25 January.

After electing to bowl first, Ali Raza picked up a couple of wickets in his first over before returning to bag two more and finish with impressive figures of four for 37. He was well supported by Momin Qamar, who captured three wickets in the middle of the innings for 46 runs, while Abdul Subhan removed the last two batters.

Scotland faced trouble when they slipped from 75 for three to 115 for six, but Manu Saraswat (25) and Finlay Jones (33) added 58 valuable runs for the seventh wicket in 82 balls to repair the damage. Earlier, Thomas Knight (37) and Ollie Jones (30) had put on 40 runs from 49 balls for the fifth wicket.

In their chase, Usman Khan demonstrated his talent while scoring a fine 75. In partnership with Ahmed Hussain, who scored a fluent 92-ball 47 with three fours, Usman stitched a 111-run partnership for the third wicket from 162 balls. The partnership ended at 159 when Usman fell while attempting a big shot over mid-on. Ahmed departed with just three runs required for victory when a reverse sweep brought his dismissal.

For Scotland, Ollie Jones and Manu Saraswat picked up two wickets each, conceding 41 and 42 runs, respectively.

Scores in brief

Group C – Pakistan Men’s U19 beat Scotland Men’s U19 by six wickets

Scotland187 all-out, 48.1 overs (Thomas Knight 37, Finlay Jones 33, Ollie Jones 30, Manu Saraswat 25; Ali Raza 4-37, Momin Qamar 3-46, Abdul Subhan 2-36)

Pakistan 190-4, 43.1 (Usman Khan 75, Ahmed Hussain 47, Sameer Minhas 28, Farhan Yousuf 18 not out, Ali Hasan Baloch 15; Ollie Jones 2-41, Manu Saraswat 2-42)