Proteas pacer Kwena Maphaka rewrote history as South Africa‘s U-19 World Cup campaign ended in a semi-final defeat to India.
His outstanding performances throughout the tournament resulted in 21 wickets at an average of 9.71. Maphaka introduced himself to the world as a promising talent for the future.
He came close to equaling the Under 19 World Cup record of 22 wickets set by Bangladesh’s Enamul Haque jnr (2014), but finished one short.
However, he was able to rewrite history by taking the most five-wicket hauls in a single U-19 World Cup.
Kwena Maphaka scored 5/38 against the West Indies, 5/34 against Zimbabwe, and 6/21 in South Africa.
Before him, only four players had taken two five-wicket hauls in the event. Maphaka won three, beating Sri Lanka’s Dunith Wellalage (2022), Afghanistan’s Shafiqullah Ghafari (2020), and Pakistan’s Anwar Ali (2006) and Riaz Afridi (2004).
In his first appearance in the event in 2022, Maphaka took seven wickets. His overall tally now stands at 28, making him Zimbabwe’s joint leading wicket-taker in tournament history.
The teenage pacer, with his precise line and length, took 3/32 in the nail-biting semi-final against India. However, the Indian combo of skipper Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas stole the game from the Proteas with a match-winning 172-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Sachin scored 96 in 95 balls, with 11 fours and a six, while Uday managed 81 in 124 balls, with six fours. India won the match by two wickets and seven balls to spare.