Shimron Hetmyer, the West Indies captain, had contributed all of 23 runs in four innings going into the quarterfinals of the Under-19 World Cup. When the heat was on, he led the way with a sparkling half-century that helped West Indies chase down Pakistan's 227 for 6 by five wickets in Fatullah to set up a semifinal date with hosts Bangladesh.

That meant Umair Masood's fighting 113 and his 164-run stand for the sixth wicket with Salman Fayyaz that helped Pakistan stage a remarkable recovery from 57 for 5 went in vain as West Indies chased down the target with 10 overs to spare.

Chemar Holder, the pacer who flew into Dhaka only two days ago as a replacement for the injured Obed McCoy, did the early damage by dismissing Zeeshan Malik, the Pakistan captain, and Shadab Khan inside six overs. Things continued to slide as Alzarri Joseph, the pacer who clocked the fastest ball of the tournament at 147 clicks, dismissed Mohammad Umar to leave Pakistan's top three back in the hut inside nine overs.

When Saif Badar and Hasan Mohsin were dismissed, Pakistan were in danger of folding inside 100. As the pitch eased out considerably, Masood opened up to play freely and was complemented well by the pugnacious Fayyaz, who rotated strike efficiently in the middle overs. Masood cut loose towards the end as Pakistan smashed 82 runs off the last 10 overs.

Gidron Pope smashed two fours and two sixes in his 25 as West Indies wiped out 45 in the first six overs, before he was caught at point to give Ahmad Shafiq a breakthrough. But the momentum was carried forward by Hetmyer, who used his feet admirably against the spinners to pinch boundaries at will to eat into the target. Hetmyer's dismissal for 52 that broke a 77-run stand allowed Pakistan to claw back as the spinners choked the runs for a brief while.

West Indies didn't help their cause with two runs out that left the game on an even keel, until Shamar Springer's run-a-ball 37 brought the target to inside 40, which was wiped ou by Jyd Goolie and Keemo Paul as West Indies cruised home with plenty to spare.

Courtesy Cricinfo