In a controversial moment at the Under-19 Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup in Harare, Pakistan\u2019s U19 team appeared to deliberately slow their run chase against Zimbabwe\u2019s U19 side, prompting debate over sporting fairness and tactical gamesmanship.<\/p>\n
In their final group-stage match, Pakistan bowled Zimbabwe out for a modest 128 before chasing the target.<\/p>\n
When Pakistan began their reply, they got off to a solid start. Openers Sameer Minhas and Ahmed Hussain put together a composed partnership, taking Pakistan to 74 for 2 inside 12 overs with minimal trouble. At this stage the required run rate was well under control and Pakistan looked set for a routine victory.<\/p>\n
At the end of 26 overs, Pakistan were 120 for 2, having successfully ensured that Zimbabwe would finish ahead of Scotland in the Group C table.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Opener Minhas then hit two sixes in the first two deliveries of the 27th over to finish the chase.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Pakistan secured the winning runs at 132 for 2 in 26.2 overs, claiming victory by eight wickets.<\/p>\n
WHY DID PAKISTAN SLOW DOWN?<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a slowdown because of the pitch and conditions, but a tactical move from Pakistan to boost their prospects in the Super Six stage.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s position improved largely because of how the Under-19 World Cup is structured.<\/p>\n
Under the competition rules, teams advancing to the Super Six stage do not carry forward all group-stage results; only matches played against other qualifiers count towards points and net run rate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With Zimbabwe finishing ahead of Scotland in the group, Pakistan\u2019s result against Zimbabwe became relevant in the next phase, while the match against Scotland did not. As Pakistan had defeated Zimbabwe more comprehensively than they had beaten Scotland, this outcome left them entering the Super Sixes with a stronger net run rate than would otherwise have been the case.<\/p>\n
CUNNING BUT JUSTIFIABLE<\/p>\n
Supporters of the tactic argue it reflects an astute understanding of tournament rules. Former Zimbabwe captain and commentator Andy Flower described Pakistan\u2019s approach as \u201ccunning but justifiable\u201d.<\/p>\n
“They needed to first establish they weren’t going to lose the game, and then they just slowed down to make sure Zimbabwe got through. Some people may question the ethics of that, but I personally don’t,\u201d Flower told ESPNCricinfo.<\/p>\n
However, critics contend that deliberately modulating run-scoring to influence standings goes against the spirit of competitive sport. While Pakistan still won the match comfortably by eight wickets, many observers felt the timing and extent of the slowdown indicated intent rather than coincidence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Under ICC\u2019s Code of Conduct, purposely manipulating match situations could theoretically warrant penalties for \u201cdeliberately manipulating the outcome\u201d, though proving such intent remains difficult in practice.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Debodinna Chakraborty<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Jan 23, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a controversial moment at the Under-19 Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup in Harare, Pakistan\u2019s U19 team appeared to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,145945,145946,145943,145938,145940,145937,145944,101,145939,56,145942,54,55,145941],"class_list":["post-386168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-icc-u19-world-cup-controversy","tag-pakistan-u19-match-manipulation-debate","tag-pakistan-u19-net-run-rate-strategy","tag-pakistan-u19-slow-chase-zimbabwe","tag-pakistan-u19-tactical-slowdown","tag-pakistan-vs-zimbabwe-u19-controversy","tag-pakistan-zimbabwe-u19-fairness-debate","tag-sports","tag-u19-world-cup-pakistan-zimbabwe-match","tag-uk","tag-under-19-world-cup-super-six-rules","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-zimbabwe-u19-qualification-controversy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}