South Africa thrash Tanzania by 329 runs in U-19 World Cup; Sri Lanka and Pakistan also win

South Africa and Sri Lanka secured big wins over Tanzania and Ireland respectively and Pakistan also opened their account with a victory against Scotland at the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 on Monday.

Here’s how the games panned out:

South Africa beat Tanzania by 329 runs

(Scorecard)

South Africa were asked to bat first by Tanzania and the Proteas got going in no time. Jorich van Schalkwyk set the tone with a brisk 47 with opening partner Mogamat Lagadien (32) also contributing.

Captain Muhammad Bulbulia and Jason Rowles then built on the good work by the openers to dominate the Tanzanian bowling. The skipper anchored the innings while Rowles adopted a more aggressive approach.

The two built a 201-run stand that got the Proteas on the cusp of the 300-run mark with skipper Bulbulia completing his maiden century in the tournament. His knock of 108 was soon eclipsed by Rowles, who remained unbeaten on 125 in just 101 deliveries.

Joining the party, Paul James played a blinder, scoring 46 off 18 deliveries, smashing five sixes and two boundaries in the process as the Proteas finished on 397/5 in their 50 overs, their highest-ever total in ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup history and the eighth best overall.

Tanzania’s response with the bat was rather meek as they lost four wickets inside the first ten overs with just 13 runs on the board.

Mohammedi Mbaki offered brief resistance but there was no stopping the South African bowlers who ran through the Tanzanian batting order to record a massive victory.

This was South Africa’s largest margin of victory (by runs) in ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup history and the second largest overall in the tournament’s history.

South Africa face West Indies in their next game on Thursday while Tanzania take on Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Pakistan beat Scotland by six wickets

(Scorecard)

Pakistan opted to bowl first after winning the toss and made a perfect start with Ali Raza bagging two wickets in the very first over.

Scotland captain Thomas Knight and Rory Grant got together to rebuild the Scottish innings with a 47-run partnership but Momin Qamar broke the stand sending Grant back to the hut as Pakistan got in the ascendancy again.

Ollie Jones, Manu Saraswat and Finlay Jones added valuable runs for Scotland down the order but could not convert their knocks into a big one as Raza and Abdul Subhan combined to close the Scottish innings at 187 from just 48.1 overs.

Raza bagged four wickets while Qamar took three to put Pakistan in a position of strength at the end of the first innings.

Pakistan began the chase well with a 43-run stand between Ali Baloch and Sameer Minhas but Jones sent both of them packing in the ninth and eleventh overs respectively to give Scotland hope.

However, Usman Khan and Ahmed Hussain extinguished any hopes of a Scottish comeback with a well-crafted partnership of 111 runs that got Pakistan within touching distance of the win.

Saraswat picked up both the set batters but not before Khan completed his half century. But the wickets came too late for Scotland as Pakistan eased to a six-wicket victory chasing the target in 43.1 overs.

Pakistan face hosts Zimbabwe on Thursday while Scotland take on England on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 106 runs

(Scorecard)

Sri Lanka secured qualification to the Super 6s with a solid 106-run win over Ireland on Monday.

Fresh off a terrific batting effort against Japan in the first game, the Lankans had no hesitation opting to bat first after winning the toss against Ireland.

Dimantha Mahavithana and Viran Chamuditha could not replicate their heroics against Japan on Monday as Ireland’s Reuben Wilson and Oliver Riley sent the openers packing within the first four overs with Sri Lanka’s score still at 12.

Dulnith Sigera was also dismissed for just 22 as Sri Lanka were struggling at 59/3.

Captain Vimath Dinsara then took matters in his own hands, pairing up with Kavija Gamage to launch a Sri Lankan counter-attack. The pair slowly paced their respective innings to stitch a 80-run stand that put the team back on track.

Gamage’s dismissal brought Chamika Heenatigala to the crease who swiftly got going along with Dinsara to take the score past the 200-mark.

Their 100-run partnership came to an end when Dinsara fell off Riley’s bowling just five short of a hundred. But he had done his job to give Sri Lanka the platform to post a good total on board.

Heenatigala completed his half century to take Sri Lanka to 267/5 in his 50 overs.

Callum Armstrong started brightly with the bat for Ireland at the top of the order but kept on losing his partners at the other end as the Irish innings never got going.

Sigera and Rasith Nimsara led the charge with the ball for the Lankans picking up seven wickets between them.

Riley and Wilson added runs lower down the order but could not prevent Sri Lanka from recording a big win as the Ireland innings folded for 161 in 40.1 overs.

Sri Lanka finish their group matches against Australia on Friday while Ireland face Japan on Thursday. (ICC)