Bangladesh qualified for the Under-19 World Cup knockout stages after defeating United Arab Emirates by nine wickets using the D/L method in a rain-affected game in St Kitts on Saturday.
The youthful Tigers lost their first encounter by seven wickets to England before bouncing back to beat Canada by eight wickets. And now, with this victory, they have qualified for the quarterfinals, where they will face India.
Bangladesh defeated India by three wickets in the last World Cup final to win the competition for the first time.
When they face India on January 29, they will be hoping for a repeat of the final from the previous match.
According to an ICC press release, Bangladesh’s bowlers worked together to restrict the United Arab Emirates to 148 runs on their way to a nine-wicket triumph.
Within three overs, the UAE were reduced to eight for two, with Ashiqur Zaman dismissing the two openers for figures of two for 14 from eight overs. Dhruv Parashar and captain Alishan Sharafu then put on 44 runs for the third wicket to steady the ship for the UAE.
Punya Mehra then top-scored with 43 off 64 balls, but he was unable to find a partner as the last seven wickets went for 98 runs. Ripon Mondol had the best stats for Bangladesh, with 3-31, with three other bowlers also getting wickets.
Bangladesh made a strong start in their chase for 148 runs, reaching 86 before losing their first wicket when Iftakher Hossain was caught by Soorya Sathish off Jash Giyanani’s bowling. Before the players were hauled off the field in Basseterre owing to rain, Hossain had added 37 runs from 70 balls, with fellow opener Mahfijul Islam adding 45 runs.
While the sides faced a fresh target of 107, Mahfijul was able to make his half-century, the opener hitting 64 not out from 6 balls, as Prantik Nawrose Nabil joined him in the middle to seal the victory and a place in the knockout stages.
