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Cape Town - Captain Matthew Montgomery and Kgaudise Molefe shone with the bat and ball respectively to help the South Africa under-19s to a convincing 55-run win over Afghanistan in Trivandrum on Monday.
They finish the Youth One-Day International Quadrangular series in third-place.
Montgomery produced a controlled innings, scoring 73 off 107 deliveries (5 fours, 1 six) to guide his side to 231/8 before figures of 4/31 in ten overs from Molefe helped bowl out their opponents for 176 with five overs remaining. Ijaz Mehran’s unbeaten 70 proved to be a consolation for Afghanistan after the top-order batsman ran out of partners.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, South Africa had a solid start in setting the score. Despite losing Bonga Makaka (0) and Luke Beaufort (16) early on, Montgomery played a pivotal role in three crucial partnerships that contributed heavily to the score.
Along with a 43-run stand with Thamsanqa Kumalo (30), the captain also featured in two fifty partnerships with Bryce Parsons (44) and Andile Mogakane (33) while reaching his own milestone.
Montgomery, who was given the Player of the Match award, was eventually dismissed by Afghanistan’s top match wicket-taker, Abdul Khail (3/25). The fast bowler claimed both the scalps of Montgomery and Mogakane in the space three balls to leave South Africa 213/6 after 47 overs.
Two further wickets fell in the innings, but the youngsters still managed to post their highest total of the series.
In their chase, Afghanistan's scoring rate was hindered through the regular loss of wickets. Left-arm spinner, Molefe starred with a four-wicket haul, including three crucial wickets in the middle period to make serious inroads into their batting order. Bryce Parsons (2/30) then nabbed two quick wickets to leave their opponents reeling on 110/8 after 28 overs.
Mehran, who came in at number four, was still at the crease despite the number of wickets falling around him. The left-hander showed great determination in the middle, putting on 62 runs with tail-ender, Fazal Farooqi (11) on the way to his half-ton. All-rounder, Mogakane (3/24) came back into the attack to wrap up the win with two wickets in the 44th over.
In the Youth ODI Quadrangular final, India U19s 'B' defeated the India U19s 'A' by 72 runs to be crowned champions.
South Africa under-19s squad:
Matthew Montgomery (captain, Dolphins), Luke Beaufort (Warriors), Jonathan Bird (Cape Cobras), Achille Cloete (Cape Cobras), Jarred Jardine (Highveld Lions), Marco Jansen (Highveld Lions), Thamsanqa Kumalo (Dolphins), Bonga Makaka (Cape Cobras), Andile Mogakane (Dolphins), Kgaudise Molefe (Highveld Lions), Lifa Ntanzi (Dolphins), Bryce Parsons (Highveld Lions), Siya Plaatjie (Cape Cobras), Ruan Terblanche (Cape Cobras), Nonelela Yikha (Warriors)
