West Indies Under-19 have grown from strength to strength with the progression of the U-19 World Cup. Following a bumpy opening match loss against England, the Windies scripted a comeback, thrashing Fiji before getting the better of Zimbabwe in the last group-stage game to qualify for the quarter-finals.
The win over Zimbabwe though did not come without controversy as Windies seamer Keemo Paul mankaded last man Richard Ngarava to guide his side to a narrow two-run win.
And despite starting the quarter-final against Pakistan as slight underdogs, the Caribbean youngsters barely broke sweat in their chase of 228, reaching the destination with 10 overs to spare and five wickets in hand.
Windies skipper Shimron Hetmyer believes his side are close to fulfilling their full potential against Bangladesh in the semi-final today as India lie in wait in the grand finale.
“We have grown as a team and we’ve gotten better and better as the tournament went on. Right now I think most of the guys are looking forward to the game against Bangladesh to see how we’ve grown as a team and how better we can put our performances together,” Hetmyer told the media.
The clash takes place at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and with the junior Tigers in impressive form, thousands of fans are expected to drum up their support for the home side. But Hetmyer said rather than a hindrance, the home crowd’s support will motivate the visiting side.
“For us it’s just motivation. As coach (Graeme West) said, not a lot of us have played in front of very big crowds before. But the guys are up for the challenge. We’re not too comfortable, as the coach said, when the crowd is not cheering us but the good thing is it will be a good challenge for us,” he said.