Bangladesh trounced England by 97 runs on the final day of the warm-up matches of the ICC U19 World Cup yesterday. It was a combined team effort from the hosts as they finished their final preparation to show it will be a force to reckon with in the tournament starting tomorrow in Chittagong.
Shafiul Hayet hit 68 and Mohammad Saifuddin scored an unbeaten 46 as Bangladesh notched up 246 for eight in its 50 overs after electing to take first strike.
Later, skipper Mehedi Miraz and Mehedi Rana shared six wickets as England was shot out for 149 in 48.1 overs with only Brad Taylor (41) and Callum Taylor (36) making useful contributions.
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid-coached India recorded a five-wicket victory over Pakistan who were dismissed for 197 in 44.1 overs. India surpassed the target in the 34th over to fashion a convincing and morale-boosting win.
India’s left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed grabbed five wickets for 30 runs as Pakistan, which was cruising at 75 for one at one stage, lost its last nine wickets for 122 runs. Mohammad Umar (36) and Hasan Mohsin (33) were the main scorers.
Big-hitting Sarfaraz Khan sealed India’s comfortable win by smashing 81 off 68 balls with 12 boundaries and a six.
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s spin twins, Aniket Parikh and Rachin Ravindra, took three wickets each to help their side overcome a spirited Afghanistan by 13 runs, Shammu Ashan shone again with the bat as Sri Lanka downed Nepal by 65 runs, Zimbabwe’s leg-spinner Blessing Mavuta claimed six wickets for 18 runs to inspire his side to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Namibia in Chittagong. Canada captain Abraash Khan hit an unbeaten 93 to lead his team to a four-wicket win over Ireland, which had been bowled out for 196 earlier in the day.
The 11th edition of the biennial 16-nation tournament features nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members – Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland.
Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League quarter-finals and the other two qualifying for the Plate championships.
