ICC Men U19 World Cup: Pakistan Opt to Bowl Against Scotland
In the 12 th match of the ICC Men U19 World Cup 2026, Pakistani Under-19 captain Farhan Yousef won the toss and chose to bowl first against Scotland at Takanginga Sports Club, Highfield in the match on Monday. The move showed the confidence of Pakistan at their own pace attack and their previous dominance in youth level cricket over the European side.
Pakistan came into the match with a goal of recovering after an initial defeat to England and Scotland was aiming to start their match well after a cancelled match against the hosts, Zimbabwe. As the group stage advanced, the two teams went into the match conscious of the significance of the match in determining their World Cup results.
In the past, Pakistan have had a perfect record in Youth ODIs with Scotland and they have won all of the three matches played. Their last encounter was in the 2020 U19 world cup when Pakistan gave Scotland a total seven-wicket defeat after bowling the opponent out at a low 75. The defeat in that match is still a reminder of the depth of the bowling of Pakistan on this level.
The Pakistan XI had a good combination of both pace and spin with Farhan Yousaf at the helm of a team that included Sameer Minhas, Ali Hassan Baloch and wicketkeeper Hamza Zahoor. Scotland under the leadership of Thomas Knight counted on young all-rounders and a disciplined batting line up to face the attack by Pakistan.
The recent history of Pakistan has been rather checkered, with wins and no-results as well as a loss, nevertheless, the team is one of the historic powerhouses of U19 cricket. Scotland on the other hand wanted to break the tradition and record the first Youth ODI win over Pakistan.
Since the situation in Harare was more favorable to seam bowling during the early stages, the choice of Pakistan to bowl first seemed to be a well-thought-out idea. The target of the match was to examine the batting strength of Scotland and give Pakistan a chance to recover the lost rhythm in the tournament.
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