U-19WC: Bangladesh thrashes Nepal by 6 wickets

KATHMANDU, Feb 5: Bangladesh has defeated Nepal by six wickets in the quarter-finals of the ICC U-19 World Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur in Bangladesh on Friday.

Chasing the 212-run target of Nepal, Bangladesh reached the target in 48.2 overs losing four wickets. Bangladeshi player Zakir Hasan topscored with 75 runs studded with five fours and one six off 77 balls, Mehedi Hasan 55 runs with three fours off 65 balls while Joyraz Sheik contributed 38 runs including four fours off 67 balls.

Nepal could not break the partnership of 117 runs shared between Zakir Hasan and Mehedi Hasan. Sunil Dhamala took two wickets giving away 33 runs while Sandeep Lamichhane claimed only one wicket for Nepal.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Nepal had made 211 runs losing nine wickets in allotted 50 overs. Skipper Raju Rijal top-scored with 72 runs studded with one six and eight fours off 80 balls before being run out, Sunil Dhamala made 25 runs with two fours facing 62 balls while Aarif Sheikh contributed 21 runs including two fours off 32 balls.

On the bowling side, Bangladeshi bowler Mohammad Saifuddin grabbed two wickets conceding 25 runs, Mehedi Hasan Rana and Saleh Ahmed Shawon claimed one wicket each giving away 30 and 27 balls respectively in the match.

Earlier, in the group stage matches, Nepal had beaten New Zealand by 32 runs and Ireland by eight wickets before facing a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of three-time champion India. Yogendra Karki had made highest 61 runs and Sandeep Lamichhane has claimed five wickets including a hat-tric against against Ireland.

Similarly, Group A winner Bangladesh had remained unbeaten in the competition by winning all three matches of the group. It thrashed defending champion South Africa by 43 runs, stunned Scotland by 114 runs and Namibia by eight wickets.

As per the new decision of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the top finisher Associate team in the Bangladesh competition will secure berth for the New Zealand event to be held from January 12 to February 4 in 2018.

Nepal and Namibia are the two Associate nations in the current tournament making it to the quarterfinals.

Nepal squad

Raju RijalCaptain
Aarif Sheikh
Dipendra Singh Airee
Kushal Bhurtel
Sunil Dhamala
Himanshu Dutta
Sushil Kandel
Yogendra Singh Karki
Sandeep Lamichhane
Ishan Pandey
Rajbir Singh
Shankar Rana
Dipesh Shrestha
Sandeep Sunar
Prem Tamang
Saurav Khanal

Bangladesh squad

Mehedi Hasan
Abdul Halim
Ariful Islam
Jaker Ali
Joyraz Sheik
Mehedi Hasan Rana
Mohammad Saifuddin
Mosabbek Hossain
Nazmul Hossain Shanto
Pinak Ghosh
Saeed Sarkar
Saif Hassan
Saleh Ahmed Shawon
Shafiul Hayet
Zakir Hasan
Sanjit Saha