West Indies U-19s won the five-match series 3-2
By Avenash Ramzan
A brilliant century from opener Keagan Simmons and superb death bowling from Bhaskar Yadram handed West Indies Under-19s a nail-biting two-run win over South Africa Under-19s in the final game of their five-match ODI series in Durban on Wednesday.
With the win, West Indies Under-19s sealed the series 3-2 and now move on to play Zimbabwe Under-19s in a three-match ODI series starting July 23. Final scores in the match: West Indies Under-19s 244-5 from 50 overs; South Africa 242-7 from 50 overs.
Batting first, West Indies Under-19s were led by Simmons’ unbeaten 107 off 152 balls. The left-hander batted through the innings, hitting 14 fours. Simmons and Guyanese Joshua Persaud, who stroked 46 (62 balls; 8x4s), added 83 in 21 overs to lay the foundation for the Caribbean side total.
Alick Athanaze struck 40 off 45 balls down the order, while Yadram made 21. Thando Ntini bagged 2-38 off eight overs for South Africa Under-19s, who, despite an even hundred from opener Matthew Breetzke, fell short by two runs.
Breetzke’s knock spanned 114 balls and included seven fours and three sixes, and he added 112 in 21 overs with fellow opener Jiveshan Pillay, who made 44. However, South Africa Under-19s lost wickets at regular intervals, which stymied their chase.
With eight needed off the final over bowled by Yadram, the hosts managed just five as West Indies Under-19s pulled off the series win. Yadram, who was later named Man-of-the-Series, bagged 3-37 off seven overs, while Jeavor Royal took 2-31 off 10 overs.
For his unbeaten hundred, Simmons was voted Man-of-the-Match.
SUMMARY: WEST INDIES U-19s 244-5 from 50 overs (K. Simmons 107*, J. Persaud 46, A. Athanaze 40, B. Yadram 21, T. Ntini 2-38) v SOUTH AFRICA U-19s 242-7 from 50 overs (M. Breetzke 100, J. Pillay 44, B. Yadram 3-37, J. Royal 2-31).
