Match-Fixing in the U19 World Cup? Here’s Why Pakistan Slowed Down Against Zimbabwe

The Under-19 teams of Pakistan and Zimbabwe clashed against each other in the 19th match of the ongoing U19 World Cup in Harare. The Boys in Green defeated the hosts quite comfortably by eight wickets and sealed their spot in the Super Six stage from Group C.

However, something unexpected happened during the second innings of the match when Pakistan U19 cricket team was chasing the target. It caught the attention of the fans, who claimed about the PAK U19 vs ZIM U19 match fixing allegations.

Did Pakistan do match-fixing in U19 World Cup?

The Pakistan vs Zimbabwe U19 World Cup match was played at one of the most beautiful cricket stadiums in the world but turned out to be a weird one. Zimbabwe set a target of 129 runs after batting first in the match. Chasing the target, the Pakistan U19 team started off brilliantly with 74 runs for two wickets off just 12 overs.

It looked like they would chase the target inside 20 overs. However, they appeared to deliberately slow their run chase to ensure that Zimbabwe U19 cricket team also qualifies for the Super Six stage ahead of Scotland on the net run-rate basis. It raised serious questions over Pakistan's sportsmanship behaviour.

The Boys in Green were 120 for 2 after the end of the 26th over, ensuring that the Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket team successfully finished ahead of the Scotland U19 team. Surprisingly, batter Sameer Minhas then wasted no further time and smashed two sixes to finish the match.

The youngster recently played a scintillating knock during the Asia Cup final and showed why he can become one of the best openers in the world. The Asian nation then chased the target in 26.2 overs and won the match convincingly by eight wickets.

Why Pakistan Slowed Down Against Zimbabwe?

Pakistan U19 slowed down the chase, not because of the surface or conditions. There's a tactical reason behind this move, which helped both the teams. Pakistan’s standing improved mainly due to the Under-19 World Cup format, where teams in the Super Six carry forward only results against fellow qualifiers, not all group-stage matches.

Zimbabwe have also qualified for the Super Six but Scotland were knocked out. As a result, Pakistan's result against Zimbabwe becomes relevant as they beat the host more comprehensively than they had beaten the Scotland U19 cricket team. It will help their net run-rate to get better in the Super Six stage.

This move might have helped Farhan Yousuf and his men in the tournament but it didn't go down well with the fans. Some of them even said that Zimbabwe are the hosts which is why they were kept alive in the tournament. A sizeable section of the fans even complained about the match fixing in U19 World Cup.

Alongside Pakistan and Zimbabwe, England is another team to have qualified from this group. The Three Lions have topped the group and look set to do well in the next round as well.