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WINDHOEK: Will Malajczuk’s sublime ton guided Australia to an easy win over Japan, while the Bangladesh vs New Zealand fixture was washed out in the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2026.
Set 202, Australia romped to an eight-wicket victory in 29.1 overs, becoming the first team to qualify for the Super Six stage of the tournament.
Will Malajczuk and Nitesh Samuel started briskly in the chase as the pair added 135 in 15.3 overs.
Malajczuk remained the core aggressor, first racing to a 21-ball half-century and then completing his ton on 51 balls.
He eventually departed after scoring 102 off 55 balls, laced with five sixes and 12 fours. Steven Hogan was the second wicket to fall in the 20th over. He made 15 from 20 balls.
Eventually, Australia reached the target with Samuel’s remaining unbeaten on 60 off 73 deliveries, hitting four boundaries. Tom Hogan made 19* from 27 balls.
For Japan, Charlie Hara-Hinze and Nihar Parmar picked up one wicket each.
Earlier, Japan decided to bat first and managed 201-8 at the end of their 50 overs.
After losing Nikhil Pol for a duck in the opening over, Nihar Parmar and Hugo Tani-Kelly stabilized the innings with a 58-run partnership.
Parmar made 33 from 67 balls with the help of a six and two boundaries.
Japan were kept afloat by Hugo Tani-Kelly, who held the innings together with a string of parnterships until the middle order collapse.
He forged another partnership of 46 runs with Charlie Hara-Hinze (24), bringing the total over 100 run mark.
However, Hinze’s dismissal sparked a mini collapse, slumping Japan from 103-5 to 118-6 in 30.3 overs.
Despite the wickets, Tani-Kelly resisted and remained unbeaten on 79 from 135 deliveries, which included six fours.
For Australia, Naden Cooray remained the pick of the bowlers with three scalps to his name.
Meanwhile, the Group B fixture between New Zealand and Bangladesh got washed out due to rain.
The fixture commenced after an hour delay and was reduced to a 47-over match per side.
However, due to rain, only 10 overs of play were possible with New Zealand scoring 51-1.
The second rain-abandoned clash left New Zealand in a precarious position, as they will have to defeat India in their final group stage fixture to avoid depending on other results — Bangladesh-USA to advance to the Super Sixers.
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