Windhoek: Japan secured a commanding victory over Tanzania by 9 wickets in the Playoff-1 match of the Under-19 World Cup 2026, effectively ending the World Cup campaigns of both teams. The match decided the 13th place in the tournament.
Alongside Japan and Tanzania, Scotland and the United States have also been eliminated from the title race. Scotland and the US are scheduled to face each other in Playoff-2 on January 26. The Super-6 stage features two groups: Group 1 includes South Africa, Ireland, Afghanistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Australia, while Group 2 comprises India, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, England, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
In the Playoff-1 match played at the High Performance Oval on Saturday, Tanzania won the toss and elected to bat. However, they could manage only 131 runs in 38.3 overs. Tanzania lost an early wicket when Karim Rashidi was dismissed without scoring at just 2 runs on the board. Subsequently, Acre Hugo and Ayan Sharif stitched a valuable 79-run partnership for the second wicket, taking the team to 81 runs. Hugo scored 55 runs off 77 balls, hitting three sixes and three fours before getting out.
Ayan Sharif continued his innings with Rehan Atif, adding 37 runs for the third wicket. Rehan scored 16 runs before being dismissed, while Ayan contributed 40 runs off 89 balls with a boundary. From the bowling side, Nihar Parmar was the standout performer, taking 4 wickets. Nikhil Pol claimed 3 wickets, and Charles Hinje took 2 wickets.
Chasing the target, Japan reached the winning total comfortably in 28.2 overs. The opening pair of Nihar Parmar and Taylor Waugh laid a solid foundation with a 122-run partnership off 162 balls. Taylor was run out for 47, but Nihar stayed unbeaten on 53 runs from 74 balls, including four boundaries. He was well supported by Nikhil Pol, who remained not out on 12 runs, steering Japan to victory.
This win confirmed Japan’s 13th place finish in the tournament, while also marking the end of their World Cup journey.
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