Ireland and the UAE secured their places in the Plate semifinals as the next stage of the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup got off in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday (IST).UAE survived a dramatic batting collapse to get past Uganda by one wicket and set up a clash with either hosts West Indies or Papua New Guinea in the next round. Philippus le Roux was Ireland's hero, slamming a crucial unbeaten 83 to help his side post a total which proved comfortably beyond Canada.Ireland will now meet the winners of Thursday's clash between Zimbabwe and Scotland while Canada join Uganda in the Plate play-off semifinals.Adhitya Shetty shone with the ball (4/29) and held his nerve with the bat (11 not out) as UAE recovered from a collapse to overcome Uganda by one wicket in a low-scoring game.Shetty's incisive bowling helped UAE dismiss Uganda for 123 and he later saw his side home with the bat during a nail-biting finish at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain on Wednesday (IST). Uganda opted to bat on winning the toss, adding 30 for the opening wicket before Ronald Opio was trapped in front by Shetty in the 11th over.The leg-spinner went on to claim Uganda skipper Pascal Murungi (23) among his other scalps, finishing with 4/29 from his 10 overs to keep the batting side in check. Ronald Lutaaya displayed resistance in his 25 but when he was run out, Uganda lost their final five wickets for the addition of just 38 runs.
UAE made a strong start to their pursuit of 124, Kai Smith hitting five boundaries in a fluent 25, and were almost halfway to their target in the 15th over for the loss of just Smith. But Uganda clawed back in the space of 14 balls as UAE fell from 61/1 to 62/5.Shetty and No. 11 Jash Giyanani later helped UAE complete the job with 9.3 overs to spare.An unbeaten 83 from Philippus le Roux set Ireland on their way to a 94-run victory over Canada, who remain in search of their maiden victory in the competition. Canada started well with the ball, Ethan Gibson taking two early wickets - including danger man Joshua Cox to reduce Ireland to 34 for three. Le Roux then began the rebuilding job but soon lost the company of captain Tim Tector (15) as Canada continued to apply pressure.At 90/7 Ireland were in deep trouble but le Roux continued to stand firm. He added 48 with Jamie Forbes (25) and struck 12 boundaries in all as he carried Ireland to 179. Canada were quickly on the back foot in reply, falling to 12/3 with Kairav Sharma (19) and Gurnek Johal Singh (15) being the only batters to reach double figures.Reuben Wilson (3/18) was the pick of the attack, while Jamie Forbes claimed 2/2 as Canada were bowled out for 85 with 20.4 overs remaining.
Brief scores: Ireland 179 in 43.3 overs (Philippus le Roux 83 not out, Parmveer Kharoud 2/33, Ethan Gibson 3/36) beat Canada 85 in 29.2 overs (Reuben Wilson 3/18) by 94 runs.
Uganda 123 in 38.1 overs (Adhitya Shetty 4/29) lost to UAE 127/9 in 40.3 overs (Joseph Baguma 3/29, Matthew Musinguzi 3/21) by one wicket.