Pakistan 239 for 9 (Faseeh 68, Sadaqat 42*, Naveed 3-41) beat Afghanistan 215 for 9 (Sayedi 42, Awais 3-36, Akram 2-39) by 24 runs
Afghanistan had the better spinners for the turning surface in Tarouba, but three run-outs in their chase of 240 allowed Pakistan to seize the advantage instead. Allah Noor, Sulaiman Safi and Izharulhaq Naveed were all out trying to pinch runs that weren't there, and Pakistan made the most of the freebies to complete a 24-run win and secure their place in the quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup.
Afghanistan lost their captain Safi, the No. 3, in the 29th over when he tried to take on Zeeshan Zameer's arm from the deep. In the next over, the well-set Noor had to go after a direct hit from mid-off. Those two wickets reduced Afghanistan from a comfortable 104 for 2 to 113 for 4.
The Afghanistan batters coming in thereafter had to try and settle in when the track looked its trickiest, but they couldn't last long. Pakistan captain Qasim Akram's offbreaks accounted for Mohammad Ishaq and Khyber Wali in the 34th over, Naveed was gone with another direct hit from mid-off, and despite Noor Ahmad's 18-ball 29 giving Pakistan a late scare, they held on.
Seamer Awais Ali was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers. He got the opening breakthrough in the chase, breaking a 38-run stand when he removed Nangeyalia Kharote for 12 in the 11th over. And at the death, he dismissed Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai (39) and Noor to finish with figures of 3 for 36.
Pakistan's batting was constructed on the back of a solid 73-run fourth-wicket stand between Abdul Faseeh and Akram, who helped the side recover from 92 for 3 to 165 for 4 through the middle overs. Before their stand, two identical googlies from left-arm wristspinner Noor had opener Muhammad Shehzad - who scored an attractive, counter-attacking 43 - and the No. 4 Irfan Khan edging attempted drives to first slip.
Faseeh, the No. 3, brought out his strokes as his innings progressed, getting to his half-century in Akram's company. But a mix-up between the batters broke the stand, giving Afghanistan a sniff when Akram had to walk back for 38.
Then came a golden spell from legspinner Naveed to rattle Pakistan further. Faseeh struck a Naveed full toss to deep midwicket to be dismissed for 68, Abbas Ali couldn't put a cut away and instead saw his stumps rattled, and Ahmed Khan failed to pick Naveed's googly and was bowled for a first-ball duck.
From a position of strength at 165 for 3, Pakistan had gone to 173 for 6, and it appeared they would not be able to bat the whole 50 overs. But No. 8 Maaz Sadaqat thumped seven fours in his 37-ball unbeaten innings of 42 to give Pakistan the late push. He helped add 35 runs in the last five overs, and Pakistan finished with a 239 for 9, a score that proved too much for Afghanistan in the end.
England 362 for 6 (Prest 154*, Bethell 62, Luxton 47, Giyanani 2-60) beat United Arab Emirates 173 (Naseer 54, Rehan 4-30) by 189 runs
England laid down the gauntlet in their final Group A match by completing a third-consecutive comprehensive win to not only end their group with a spotless record but also post the highest innings score of the competition thus far.
Their captain Tom Prest smacked an unbeaten 119-ball 154, including 13 fours and four sixes, to lift England to 362 before legspinner Rehan Ahmed collected a four-for to wrap UAE's innings up for 173.
England's batters enjoyed time in the middle before their likely quarter-final against South Africa. Opener George Thomas made a 43-ball 41. Jacob Bethell struck eight fours and three sixes in his 55-ball 62. And while Prest smacked 13 fours and four sixes in his 154 - the highest individual score of the World Cup so far - William Luxton, too, got among the runs with a 45-ball 47.
UAE's chase of 363 began poorly, with left-arm seamer Joshua Boyden removing Aryansh Sharma in the first over. Four more wickets quickly followed, and by the 15th over, UAE were 61 for 5. Naseer, who conceded 81 runs with the ball, hit a half-century from No. 7, but UAE were eventually bowled out for 173. Ahmed removed Naseer and three others to finish with 4 for 30 in his ten overs.
Bangladesh 141 for 2 (Hossain 61, Nabil 33) beat Canada 136 (Chima 63, Mondol 4-24, Meherob 4-38) by eight wickets
In the other Group A match, defending champions Bangladesh stayed in contention for qualification by steamrolling Canada by eight wickets. Right-arm seamer Ripon Mondol and offspinner SM Meherob took four wickets each to bowl Canada out for 136 before their batters chased the target down in 30.1 overs.
Bangladesh's win makes their final game against UAE a virtual knockout, with the winner going on to face India in the quarter-final and the loser going to the Plate round.
Canada opener Anoop Chima made a slow 63, at a strike rate of 53.84, and his innings was, by far, their best batting contribution. Apart from the opening stand of 34, Canada could not make any significant partnership, and the Mondol-Meherob combination ran through their batting order.
Bangladesh's chase of 137 was anchored by opener Iftikher Hossain's steady 61. His innings had seven fours, and he put on a 76-run stand for the second wicket with Prantik Nawrose Nabil (33) after opening batter Mahfijul Islam fell early. Following Nabil's dismissal, Hossain reached his fifty and together with the No. 4 Aich Mollah (20*), finished the chase with 119 balls to spare.