DUBAI // Knocked out of the last ICC Under 19 World Cup by their neighbours India at the quarter-final stage, Pakistan will be looking for revenge when they meet the defending champions in their opening game of the 2014 tournament, which is being held in the UAE.
Sami Aslam opened for Pakistan in that game in Australia 16 months ago and was dismissed off the first ball of the match.
India then got the winning runs from the last ball in a dramatic finish, with their last-wicket pair surviving nine overs.
Aslam is now captain of the Pakistan U19 team and he is hoping to lead his team to victory not just in the opening game against their bitter rivals, but taking the ultimate prize as well.
“Pakistan and India matches are always big,” Aslam said yesterday at the press conference to announce the groups and fixtures for the tournament. “We still have the last game in mind, so hopefully we can play some excellent cricket and beat them this time.
“Our team was doing really well until our defeat to India [at the last World Cup]. They played really well in that game. I can bank on that experience as well and help my team win the World Cup through my batting and captaincy.
“We recently played a tri-series in England and we won all the matches. We are now playing another tri-series here in the UAE and after that we will play the Asia Cup here as well. I think that’s a very good lead-up to the World Cup. We will get familiar with the conditions here and since our team is doing well, we are very confident of winning the World Cup.”
India and Pakistan have been drawn in Group A, alongside Scotland and Papua New Guinea, for the 16-nation tournament, which runs from February 14 to March 1. The matches will be played across seven venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Australia, who like India have won this tournament three times, headline Group B, with Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Namibia. South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Canada are in Group C, while hosts UAE have been drawn in a tough group alongside 1998 champions England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
“We obviously have to work hard,” said Dan D’Souza, one of the UAE’s front line batsmen. “We know what we are up against. We know the conditions well and I think we can use that to our advantage.
“Now having played against England [in the recent tri-series], we have a rough idea of what to expect. So we know we have our work cut out, but I think we have to believe in ourselves and fight hard. That’s what we are looking to do.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
GROUPS
A: India, Pakistan, Scotland Papua New Guinea
B: Australia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Namibia
C: South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Canada
D: New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, UAE
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Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
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ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
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Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
Match info
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Kolarov (56')
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
