Plate Championship quarter-finals:
Quarter-final one, R.Premadasa Stadium, Ireland v New Zealand.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field.
Ireland 304-9 (50 overs, E.Morgan 124, A.Poynter 76); New Zealand 305-7 (49.1 overs, Southee 92, de Boorder 87). New Zealand won by three wickets.
Southee trumps Morgan to break Irish hearts
New Zealand's Tim Southee broke Ireland's hearts with a blazing display of hitting that saw his side pull off an improbable run-chase in the Plate Championship quarter-final on Tuesday.
Southee smashed 92 from just 55 balls as New Zealand, at one stage 150-4 in pursuit of 305, eventually triumphed by three wickets with five balls to spare.
His innings trumped a brilliant hundred by Ireland captain Eoin Morgan, whose 124 was the basis of his side's 304-9, their highest ever total against an ICC Full Member, beating the 291-9 they made against Australia in Bangladesh two years ago.
New Zealand's win means they now face the USA in the Plate Championship semi-final on Wednesday while Ireland, still searching for their first win of the tournament, play Namibia in the Plate Championship play-off, also on Wednesday.
Southee was originally set to bat at number nine but with New Zealand short of momentum he was pushed up the order to number six and responding with a ferocious display of hitting.
He hammered six sixes and four fours and from a position where New Zealand looked to be heading for a humiliating loss against their Associate opponents, they ended the day with a triumphant win.
Southee added 95 with Andrew de Boorder (87) and then a further 43 in rapid time with Keiran Noema-Barnett (22) and by the time he was dismissed the target was in range.
"The coach told me to put the pads on and I was bit nervous," said Southee afterwards of his promotion in the order.
"I went out and played a few dot balls but then I got a couple in the middle of the bat and took it from there."
New Zealand looked out of contention before Southee's intervention but for Ireland it was a case of what might have been.
After posting that excellent total they had chances to close the match out but failed to see it through.
"It is a cliché but catches win matches and we let a few go today and we did not field as well as we could have done," said Morgan.
"There was the odd misfield, and the failure to stop the ball from going for four here and there made all the difference.
"But it was still a huge effort from the guys and I cannot have asked any more from them and we have come on so much from our first game, from being bowled out for less than 100 to topping 300," he added.
Those chances included a straightforward stumping chance to Fintan McAllister offered by de Boorder (103 balls, six fours) and in the end it was those offerings that proved the difference between success and failure for Ireland.
Morgan played beautifully in two excellent stands that set the foundation for Ireland's big score.
First he added 88 for the second wicket with McAllister (44) then he added 160 for the fourth wicket, the highest stand of the tournament so far, with Andrew Poynter (76).
Morgan's effort was an outstanding one given the sapping heat but despite those unfamiliar conditions he battled away for 199 minutes, faced 126 balls and hit 12 fours and three sixes.
It was his second hundred in an ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup after scoring 117 against Uganda in the previous tournament, in Bangladesh in 2004.
Poynter hammered eight fours in an 85-ball innings that complimented Morgan's effort perfectly.
New Zealand's bowlers struggled badly in the heat but super sub Hamish Bennett was the exception. Drafted in for the 16th over, he responded with 4-31 on a day when several other bowlers had days to forget.
Ironically Southee was one of those bowlers, returning the expensive figures of 1-71, while Dean Bartlett (1-25), Roneel Hira (1-42), Martin Guptill (1-54) and Jason Donnelly (1-43) were the other wicket-takers.
Ireland finished bottom of Group D after losing all three of their qualifying matches to England, Zimbabwe and Nepal.
For New Zealand, meanwhile, it was only their second win after an earlier victory against Uganda set against losses to Bangladesh and Pakistan which meant they failed to qualify for the Super League for the first time ever.
Quarter-final two, Sinhalese Sports Club, Namibia v United States of America.
Namibia won the toss and elected to bat.
Namibia 219-8 (50 overs, P.Grove 58, D.Botha 56); USA 220-8 (49 overs, H.Punoo 64). USA won by two wickets.
-----------------------------
Punoo leads USA to historic triumph
United States of America captain Hemant Punoo led from the front to spearhead his side's first-ever win in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup on Tuesday.
Punoo's 2-36 and aggressive 64 with the bat allowed his side to beat fellow Associate side Namibia by two wickets with an over to spare and that means they will now face New Zealand in the Plate Championship semi-final on Wednesday.
For Namibia, so buoyant after a victory over Scotland in their final group game, there was the disappointment of defeat and they will now face Ireland in the Plate Championship play-off semi-final, also on Wednesday.
The match turned on Namibia's inability to score enough runs after setting themselves up for a decent total.
At one stage, thanks to half-centuries from Pieter Grove (58) and Dawid Botha (56) they reached 121-2 and later on were 151-3 only to be reined back in the latter stages of the innings.
Punoo was a key man in that process, as were pace bowler Dominic Audain (3-49) and Anil Deopersaud (2-32).
Then the captain played a vital role with the bat, marching to the crease with his side at 44-3 and making a crucial half-century in 76 balls, including eight fours.
Punoo said afterwards: "There is a great feeling in the dressing room as this is a big win for the guys and for USA cricket.
"It is our first win in the tournament and after this there is no reason why we cannot back up and get another 'W' in the column against New Zealand tomorrow."
If Punoo was ecstatic, Namibia coach Andy Waller was frustrated.
"In every other game we reached the final ten overs of our innings with just a few wickets left and this time we had six (wickets) which was exactly as we wanted it," he said.
"But the guys then played poor cricket and when we fielded we had some poor misfields and we let 15 runs through our legs which should never happen on an outfield like this.
"The USA looked more urgent than us today and they got their rewards."
Grove and Botha added 62 for the third wicket with Grove, batting at number three, scoring his runs in 93 balls with eight fours. Botha reached his total from 80 balls and hit five fours.
But apart from those two players, no other Namibia batsman reached 20 as the USA bowlers did a good job of restricting the scoring-rate, especially late on in the innings, with the only blot on their copybook the 25 wides they conceded.
The USA made hard work of the run-chase as every player in their top seven reached double figures but only Punoo pushed on for a half-century.
At one stage they slipped to 44-3 before Punoo and Sumon Bari (28) added 59 for the fourth wicket to snatch back the initiative.
And when Bari was dismissed, Mrunal Patel (31) and Nisarg Patel (22) helped ensure the USA were not to be denied, despite the odd nervous moment, including two late run-outs.
For Namibia, opening bowler Floris Marx was impressive with 3-25 and Louis van der Westhuizen (0-29) bowled his first five overs for just one run before Punoo opened his shoulders.
The other Namibia bowlers to collect wickets were Heno Prinsloo (1-44), Nicolaas Scholtz (1-42) and Andrew Louw (1-39).
-----------------------------
Quarter-final three, P.Saravanamuttu Stadium, Nepal v Uganda. Nepal won the toss and elected to bat.
Nepal 192-9 (50 overs, G.Malla 64); Uganda 132 (44.3 overs). Nepal won by 60 runs.
Nepal win after Uganda's batting fails again
Uganda's batting, which has proved their Achilles heel throughout the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, again misfired at the P.Saravanamuttu Stadium on Tuesday as they subsided to defeat against Nepal.
Chasing a modest 193 for victory, the Africans could only muster 132 all out in 44.3 overs in their Plate Championship quarter-final.
It followed up their previous efforts of 74 (Pakistan), 137 (New Zealand) and 84 (Bangladesh) and means that in four matches their average total is just 107.
Their latest defeat means Uganda will now face Scotland in the Plate Championship play-off semi-final on Friday while Nepal will play South Africa in the Plate Championship semi-final on Thursday.
Nepal adopted a high-risk strategy of batting first despite the fact no other team had done that after winning the toss at the venue throughout the competition so far.
It looked to be a costly gamble too as they slipped to 85-5 before Gayanendra Malla (64) and Basant Regmi (42 not out) hauled them back into contention
The duo added 48 for the sixth wicket and with Regmi then finding useful allies in the lower order in the shape of Bantu Bataju (11) and Raj Shrestha (11), the Nepalese were left with something to bowl at as they finished with 192-9.
Charles Waiswa (2-31) picked up the early wickets of Chaugai (6) and Sharad Vesawkar (1) and with Davis Arinaitwe (2-17) dismissing Mahesh Chhetri (17) and Paras Khadka (0), Nepal were in a heap of trouble at 52-4 before they later rallied.
Malla's innings was a patient one, spanning 138 minutes, during which time he faced 122 balls and hit seven fours.
Regmi was equally patient early on although he opened out later on as the overs ran out and ended up facing 61 balls in 100 minutes at the crease, hitting four fours.
Arinaitwe was a model of economy for Uganda as he completed his full ten over allocation while the other wicket-takers were Ronald Semanda (2-47) and Raymond Otim (3-20).
When they batted, Uganda made their best start of the tournament as captain Hamza Almuzahim (24) and Arthur Kyobe (16) added 56 for the first wicket but once they were separated the by-now familiar batting collapse began and they slipped to 65-4.
Jimmy Okello (18) and Semanda (23) staged a mini-recovery as they added 31 but from 96-4 they slumped again and were unable to deal with the pressure exerted by the Nepal bowlers, especially left-arm spinner Shrestha, who bowled eight overs to take 1-5.
Wicketkeeper Chhetri took five catches behind the stumps to complete a very satisfactory day for Nepal.
Afterwards Nepal coach Roy Dais said: "I know the strengths of my team and they do find it difficult (chasing) under pressure as they showed against England and Zimbabwe.
"We did not want to take any chances and, as the wicket was turning and the ball was not coming onto the bat, it suited us later on as spin decided the match.
"Malla played a very good knock and it came after I gave him some earache after getting out in a silly way earlier in the tournament.
"And although we lost wickets at the start I knew the most important thing was for us to bat our 50 overs and if we did that we would be okay."
Nepal now face South Africa in the Plate Championship semi-finals and both sides will know that Nepal beat their more illustrious opponents in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup two years ago.
"We are the underdogs and they will be the side under pressure," said Dias. "But it is all about who plays best in the day."
-----------------------------
Quarter-final four, Nondescripts Cricket Club, Scotland v South Africa. Scotland won the toss and elected to field.
South Africa 337-8 (50 overs, D.Elgar 86, J.Symes 63, P.Daneel 59, R.Levi 51); Scotland 152 (40.4 overs, G.Goudie 59).
Drinnen left frustrated at Scotland failings as South Africa romp home
Frustrated Scotland coach Peter Drinnen was left scratching his head after another under-par performance by his players saw them hammered by South Africa.
The Proteas, still smarting from a failure to reach the Super League, thrashed the Scots attack for 337-8, the highest total of the tournament, before routing the Associate side for 152.
That gave South Africa a thumping 185-run win and afterwards Drinnen was far from happy with what he had seen from his players.
"I believe we have got a strong side but how can I keep saying that when we lose as we did today?" he asked.
"I cannot bat and bowl for them and some individuals need to take a look at themselves because at the moment they are not accepting the challenge.
"Our batting has always been a concern (on this trip) and once again it has proven to be the case here and the batsmen have not lived up their billings.
"At the moment we are seeing poor application and poor discipline and that concerns me," he added.
Things started to go wrong for Scotland almost from the start as man-of-the-match Jean Symes (63) and Pieter Daneel (59) starting the carnage by adding 134 for the first wicket in rapid time.
Then later on captain Dean Elgar (86) and vice-captain Richard Levi (51) weighed in and the Scots were given a severe grilling in hot and humid conditions.
Elgar's innings spanned just 74 balls with ten fours but it was Levi's effort that really took the game away from Scotland.
He clobbered his runs from just 23 balls with five fours and four sixes and although Scotland captain Kasaim Farid used nine bowlers in a desperate bid to establish some sort of control he struggled to achieve it.
Moneeb Iqbal emerged with the best figures as he took 3-47 in a full ten-over ration while the other wicket-takers were Farid (1-37 in three expensive overs), Rajeev Routray (1-48 in nine overs) and Richard Berrington (1-36 in eight overs).
"We approached the game with a killer instinct," said South Africa captain Dean Elgar.
"Our instinct was not to give the Scots anything and thankfully our batsmen did the business."
Gordon Goudie, fit again after missing the defeat to Namibia with a back injury, hit 59 from 70 deliveries as an opener to give Scotland hope but from 74-1 they slid very quickly to defeat with three middle-order ducks.
They slipped to 102-8 at one point before Iqbal (12), Calum MacLeod (16) and Tyler Buchan (22 not out) added the smallest amount of gloss to a bitterly disappointing day for the Associate side.
Scotland are still searching for their first win of the tournament and will now play Uganda in the Plate Championship play-off semi-final on Friday.
And looking forward to that fixture Drinnen said: "I am not worried about whether we win or lose but what I want to see is an improvement in performances both individually and collectively.
"Players have got to step up to the plate and if they do not then they have to realise they are kissing big honours down the tubes," he added.
South Africa face Nepal in the Plate Championship semi-final on Thursday.
