In Group C, Zimbabwe U-19s achieved the biggest margin of victory so far in the tournament, a massive 228 run win over Papua New Guinea U-19s in Port of Spain.
After Zimbabwe won the toss and batted first, captain Emmanuel Bawa scored one of two centuries on the day, an even 100 off 95 balls to help Zimbabwe post a formidable 321-9 off their 50 overs.
Papua New Guinea were no match for the Zimbabwean bowlers, being skittled out for 93 in 35 overs.
Victor Chirwa was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers with 2-11 from seven overs while Brian Bennett (2-20 from 6 overs) and Ngenyasha Zvinoera (2-25 from 6 overs) also had good spells.
In the lone Group A match on Saturday, UAE U-19s beat Canada U-19s by 49 runs in a competitive game in Basseterre.
UAE U-19s won the toss and batted first, making 284-7 off their 50 overs thanks to half-centuries from Punya Mehra (71) and Ali Naseer (73).
Gurnek Singh took 2-38 off seven overs for Canada U-19s.
A well-played 96 from captain Mihir Patel wasn’t enough for Canada U-19s to successfully chase their target, eventually finishing 235 all out off 46.4 overs.
Anoop Chima (46) and Kairav Sharma (43) also got runs for Canada U-19s against 2-32 from eight overs from Nilansh Keswani.
Adhitya Shetty, Jash Giyanani and Alishan Sharafu also got two wickets each for UAE U-19s.
In the first of two Group B matches on Saturday, Ireland U-19s Joshua Cox was the day’s second centurion as his 111 not out helped them secure a 39-run win over Uganda U-19s in Georgetown.
Uganda U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that proved costly in the end as Ireland were able to get a score of 236-9 off their 50 overs with Cox getting the most support from Phillipus le Roux who made 32.
Juma Miyaji, captain Pascal Muringi, Joseph Baguma and Matthew Musinguzi all took two wickets each for the Ugandans.
Murungi then top scored with 63 and Miyaji also contributed 38 but it wasn’t enough as Ireland restricted them to 197 all out off 48.1 overs to seal the win.
Matthew Humphreys was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 4-25 off his 10 overs.
India U-19s secured a 45-run win over South Africa U-19s in Georgetown in the other Group B clash.
South Africa U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision which looked like the right one as they were able to pick up early wickets thanks to good bowling by left-arm pacer Aphiwe Mnyanda.
India got on the right track, however, and used innings from captain Yash Dhull (82), Kaushal Tambe (35) and Shaik Rasheed (31) to recover to 232 all out in 46.5 overs.
Matthew Boast led the South African bowlers with 3-40 off nine overs while Mnyanda took 2-29 from five.
A stroke-filled 65 from Dewald Brevis and a solid 36 from captain George Van Heerden proved to be insufficient as South Africa lost wickets in quick succession before eventually being bowled out for 187 in 45.4 overs.
Vicky Ostval was the chief destroyer for the Indians with a brilliant 5-28 off his 10 overs while Raj Bawa supported him with 4-47 from 6.4 overs.
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Pooran's blistering 61 not enough as Shai Hope's Capitals edge LSG by 19 runs to keep slim play-off hopes alive
Delhi Capitals defeated Lucknow Super Giants to boost their hopes of making the Indian Premier League play-offs.
The Capitals claimed a 19-run victory on Tuesday, with Abishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57 not out) starring.
Their efforts propelled Delhi to 208-4 from their 20 overs, with Shai Hope (38) and Rishabh Pant (33) chipping in with useful contributions as LSG's bowling attack struggled badly. Hope faced 27 balls and had three fours and two sixes in his knock.
Nicholas Pooran top-scored with a 27-ball 61 in Lucknow's chase, while Arshad Khan plundered an unbeaten 58, yet it was not enough, with the Super Giants only able to reach 189-9 in response. Pooran's knock included six fours and four maximums, while Khan had three fours and five sixes in his 33-ball knock.
Shai Hope found his range after a quiet start.
Ishant Sharma, with 3-34, was the pick of the Capitals' bowlers, as they must now wait and see if Chennai Super Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad slip up enough to send Delhi into the top four.
LSG are down in seventh, and they must beat Mumbai Indians heavily in their last match to stand any chance of making the play-offs.
Data Debrief: Ishant hits double figures... again
Introduced as the impact player, Ishant fulfilled his duty with three swift wickets inside his first three overs, with Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hood all taken out.
Ishant has now taken 10 wickets this season, and is onto 93 across his entire IPL career. It is the sixth season Ishant has reached double figures for wickets, and his second in a row.
Afridi lauds 'world class' Babar and Rizwan as Pakistan win Ireland series
Shaheen Afridi lauded Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as "world class" after the pair guided Pakistan to a T20I series victory over Ireland on Tuesday.
Babar's side were defeated in the first meeting with Ireland last week but responded with two convincing chases to secure a 2-1 triumph.
Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker's 73 helped his side to set a target of 179 in the winner-takes-all-decider, but Pakistan had little trouble in easing to a six-wicket victory with 18 balls to spare.
Rizwan, who managed an unbeaten 75 in the second meeting, crafted a well-made 56, while Babar carried Pakistan to within touching distance after his 42-ball 75.
Big-hitter Azam Khan blasted 18 off just six deliveries to see the visitors over the line, though Afridi was quick to credit the work of the two experienced Pakistan campaigners.
"For us, before the World Cup, it's important to have these games to ready ourselves and there are a few areas to improve," said Afridi, who impressed with 3-14 in the first innings.
"They're both world-class players [Babar and Rizwan]; they know how to play their role and they have done really well on this pitch."
Babar bludgeoned four of his five sixes off Ben White's bowling in the 14th over, while sharing 139 runs with the in-form Rizwan for the second wicket.
"We had good communication in the middle because we have played a lot of cricket together; we were trying to play on our strengths and the aim was to match with the run rate," Babar added.
"Lots of positives for us to take and we were able to execute our plans.
"We have a big tournament coming up and this is good practice; we are now looking forward to the England series."
Mark Adair was the only Ireland bowler to impress with his economical 3-28, though Tucker was still satisfied with his side's efforts.
"It was brilliant and a great privilege to captain," Tucker said at the post-match presentation. "It would have been nice to start with a win.
"We set up a platform nicely but unfortunately, we couldn't finish well. We gave everyone a go with the ball. Credit to the lads, they bowled well in tough conditions.
"Maybe it was a bit disappointing with the result but we had positives from the series."
IPL: KKR ensured top-two spot after washout
The first abandoned game of the Indian Premier League ensures Kolkata Knight Riders will finish in the top two and Gujarat Titans’ elimination from playoff contention.
A combination of lightning and rain meant there was not even a toss, with the intense storm ripping banners from the stands, which later wrapped around the floodlights.
KKR had all but ensured a place in the top two due to their dominating net run-rate, but a 19th point of the season confirmed it, leaving them with one game to try and clinch top spot for the first time.
The Titans needed to win their final two games to give themselves any hope of reaching the playoffs, though it would have proven tough for the side with the lowest net run-rate in the league.
It is the first time GT have failed to make the playoffs since they joined the competition before the 2022 season.
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