Kathmandu- Nepal U19 and Bangladesh U19, both team, will eye for their first semi-final appearance when they face each other tomorrow( 5th Feb, 2016) in the first quarter-final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 20016, Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. The match starts at 8:45 NPT and will be broadcast live on Star Sports.
Big Picture:
The winner of tomorrow’s match will make it to the semi-finals U19 World Cup for the first time. The match is of great importance for the host, who have never made it forward from QF in the U19 WC before. Meanwhile, this is Nepal’s only second instance at the super league of U19 World Cup. Bangladesh, being the home team and having the benefit of most of the condition, are the favorites to win the match. Nepal, on the other hand, goes into the match as underdogs, but, on their day, they certainly can make their chance count.
Bangladesh entered the quarterfinals, defeating defending champions, South Africa by 43 runs, Scotland by 114 runs and Namibia by 8 wickets. Bangladesh squad includes five playing who played the last edition of the world cup.
Having scored two hundred plus score in the first two match their batting looks solid. Nazmul Hossain has got 200 runs to his name in just three matches including an unbeaten century against Scotland. And their bowling is led seamer Mohammad Saifuddin and spinner Saleh Ahmed, who have taken 7 wickets apiece in the competition so far. Moreover, they have played as a team so far and they do not expose any vulnerability.
After two convincing wins over New Zealand and Ireland, Nepal succumbed heavily against India. India’s exposed Nepal’s weaknesses counter attacking Nepal’s strength, i.e their bowling. In Sandeep Lamichhane, Sushil Kandel and Prem Tamang, Nepal have unmatched variation in the spin department which will be well supported by the Bangladesh conditions. They have looked decent throughout the tournament. But Nepal can bat deep and all the batsman have chipped in one match or the other.
Head to Head: (Nepal U19 1 Bangladesh U19 0)
Nepal U19 defeated Bangladesh U19 in the plate-championship semifinal in 2002 by 23 runs in their only meeting so far at U19 World Cup. Neplal, then gave Bangladesh a target of 181 in 50 overs and restricted them for 157 runs to win the match.
Players to watch:
Nazmul Hossain (Bangladesh): Bangladesh’s top batsman in the tournament so far, he has already scored 200 runs at an average of 200. He has gathered 448 runs in six first class matches with an average of 49.77.
Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal): The only bowler to take a hat-trick in the tournament so far, his leg spin has already been assisted by the condition in Bangladesh. He can be lethal against Bangladesh tomorrow.
