Afghanistan set India a daunting 311-run target in the second semi-final of the ICC U19 World Cup at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday, courtesy of centuries from Faisal Shinozada and Uzairullah Niazai.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, openers Osman Sadat and Khalid Ahmadzai gave Afghanistan a steady start, adding 53 runs for the first wicket. India struck in the 13th over when Kanishk Chouhan dismissed Khalid for 31 off 39 balls.

Faisal then joined Osman and the pair added 64 runs for the second wicket, taking the total to 117 before Osman was removed by Deepesh Devendran after scoring 39 off 70 deliveries.

Faisal and Uzairullah then took control of the innings, sharing a 148-run partnership off 130 balls.

Faisal’s knock of 110 off 93 balls ended in the 46th over when he was bowled by Deepesh.

Uzairullah remained unbeaten on 101, while late contributions from Azizullah Miakhil (12 off 9 balls) and Abdul Aziz helped Afghanistan post 310-4 in their allotted 50 overs.

For India, Deepesh and Kanishk claimed two wickets each.

The winner of the game will meet England in the final on Friday, who booked their place with a 27-run victory over Australia in the first semi-final on Tuesday.

Batting first, England posted a competitive 277-7 in their 50 overs, thanks to a brilliant century from skipper Thomas Rew and crucial contributions from Caleb Falconer, Joseph Moores, Ben Mayes and Farhan Ahmed.

Defending 278, England bowled out the Australians for 250 in 47.3 overs despite a valiant century from captain Oliver Peake, who scored 100 off 88 balls, featuring 10 fours and a six.

This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.

In a positive development, Pakistani players registered significant improvements in the latest ICC Men’s T20I rankings, led by opener Saim Ayub’s return to the top of the all-rounders’ chart, just days before the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Ayub has been rewarded for his excellent recent form by regaining the No 1 position on the ICC Men’s T20I all-rounder rankings, the International Cricket Council (ICC) stated in an official statement.

The star opener player returned to the top spot following a series of strong performances for Pakistan in their 3-0 home whitewash of Australia, replacing Zimbabwe veteran Sikandar Raza at the summit of the rankings.

The development comes at a timely moment for Ayub and Pakistan, with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup set to begin on February 7, as the Asian side looks to claim its second title in the 20-over showpiece and its first since lifting the trophy in 2009.

Ayub scored 119 runs and picked up three wickets across the three-match series against Australia.

He was not the only Pakistan player to benefit from the latest rankings update following the Australia series.

Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed climbed two places to second on the T20I bowlers’ rankings and now sits just 28 rating points behind India’s Varun Chakravarthy, who remains the top-ranked bowler, after claiming six wickets in three matches against Australia.

Fellow Pakistan spinner Mohammad Nawaz also made major progress, jumping eight places to seventh on the T20I bowlers’ list after a five-wicket haul in the final match of the series.

Nawaz also rose one place to fourth on the T20I all-rounders’ rankings.

In the T20I batters’ rankings, Pakistan’s Saim Ayub moved up eight places to joint 27th, while captain Salman Ali Agha climbed 12 positions to 29th.

There was movement within the top 10 of the T20I batters’ rankings as India’s Abhishek Sharma retained a commanding lead at the top, while England’s Jos Buttler (third), Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka (fifth), India’s Suryakumar Yadav (sixth) and New Zealand’s Tim Seifert (ninth) each gained one place.

A total of seven different teams are represented inside the top 11 of the batters’ rankings, with the upcoming T20 World Cup expected to offer further opportunities for changes.

Australia all-rounder Cameron Green moved up 16 places to 14th, while South Africa’s Quinton de Kock advanced 15 spots to joint 22nd on the T20I batters’ list.

India’s Ishan Kishan registered one of the biggest jumps, climbing 32 places to 32nd, while South Africa left-hander Ryan Rickelton surged 42 positions to 40th.

On the T20I bowlers’ rankings, England’s Adil Rashid rose two places to fourth and New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner climbed eight spots to joint 23rd, with both players expected to play key roles for their sides during the World Cup.

Six franchises, including defending champions Lahore Qalandars, have unveiled their retentions for the HBL PSL season 11, while Multan Sultans have not retained any players from their previous squad, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on Wednesday.

All franchises except Islamabad United have retained four players each. United have kept hold of three players.

The two new franchises, Sialkot Stallionz and Hyderabad, are set to announce their retentions by February 7.

The only captain to win HBL PSL three times, Shaheen Shah Afridi, has been retained in the Platinum category, while Abdullah Shafique has been retained in the Diamond category by Lahore Qalandars.

Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza will also stay with Qalandars in the Gold category.

Emerging player of the HBL PSL X Mohammad Naeem has been retained by the reigning champions in the Silver category.

Quetta Gladiators have retained mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the Platinum category, Usman Tariq in Diamond, HBL PSL X player of the tournament Hasan Nawaz in Gold and left-handed batter Shamyl Hussain in the Emerging category.

Babar Azam, the leading run-getter of the HBL PSL history and one of the only two players to feature in 100 HBL PSL games, has been retained by 2017 champions Peshawar Zalmi.

They have also kept left-arm wrist-spinner Sufyan Moqim in Diamond, Abdul Samad in Gold and pacer Ali Raza in the Emerging category.

Shadab Khan’s nine-year long journey with Islamabad United will reach the decade-mark as he has been retained by the three-time HBL PSL champions in the Platinum category.

Fast bowler Salman Irshad in the Gold and USA wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous in the Silver categories are the other two retentions by Islamabad United.

Hasan Ali – the leading wicket-taker in HBL PSL history – will continue to star for Karachi Kings as he has been retained in the Platinum category.

Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah and Saad Baig have been retained in Diamond, Gold and Emerging, respectively, by the 2020 champions.

Full retentions:

Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Shah Afridi (Platinum), Abdullah Shafique (Diamond), Sikandar Raza (Gold) and Mohammad Naeem (Silver)

Quetta Gladiators: Abrar Ahmed (Platinum), Usman Tariq (Diamond), Hasan Nawaz (Gold) and Shamyl Hussain (Emerging)

Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (Platinum), Salman Irshad (Gold) and Andries Gous (Silver)

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (Platinum), Sufyan Moqim (Diamond), Abdul Samad (Gold) and Ali Raza (Emerging)

Karachi Kings: Hasan Ali (Platinum), Mohammad Abbas Afridi (Diamond), Khushdil Shah (Gold) and Saad Baig (Emerging)

Multan Sultans: Zero retentions.