Australia crash to humiliating defeat

Group A Zimbabwe U19 74 for 3 (Williams 37*) beat Australia U19 73 (Panyangara 6-31, Chigumbura 4-17) by seven wickets
Scorecard

The Under-19 World Cup produced its first major shock when Australia were routed by Zimbabwe after being bowled out for 73 in front of a capacity 15,000 crowd at the Bogra District Stadium. To add insult to injury, it was Australia's lowest score in the tournament.

Australia won the toss and batted, and Tim Paine (19) and Theo Doropoulos (26) gave them a solid start as they reached 50 for 1 after 10 overs. But then the wheels came off as right-arm fast bowler Tinashe Panyangara ripped through their top and middle order. In a devastating nine-over spell he grabbed 6 for 31, the second-best bowling figures in the tournament's history. Four of his victims were caught by wicketkeeper Brendon Taylor.

Elton Chigumbura picked up the remaining four wickets for 17 runs as Australia succumbed in 19 overs.

Australia briefly harboured hopes of snatching a remarkable victory when Zimbabwe lost two wickets in the first three overs, but that was as good as it got and Zimbabwe coasted to a seven-wicket win with 32 overs to spare.

"Winning the game today was a great feeling," said Zimbabwe's captain Tinotenda Mawoyo. "Our morale is now very high. We played very well today and we hope to do the same in our next matches." Australia's coach, Bennett King, on the other hand, was understandably downcast. "Everything about [Zimbabwe's] game was perfect. I can't remember a game where we have been so completely dominated."

Australia must now beat Sri Lanka at Rajshahi on Friday (February 20) to keep alive their hopes of retaining their U19 title.