Bangladesh edge out West Indies
Having failed to get beyond the quarter-final stage of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, Bangladesh are preparing to be the next best in the competition when they took a step towards finishing in fifth place of the competition
Cricinfo staff
15-Feb-2006
Having failed to get beyond the quarter-final stage of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, Bangladesh are preparing to be the next best in the competition when they took a step towards finishing in fifth place of the competition. On Wednesday they made a spirited fight back, after languishing on 48 for 4, to score 162 for 6 and beat the West Indies by four wickets in the first semi-final of the Super League play-off.
Bangladesh were indebted to Shamsur Rahman (44) and Mehrab Hossain (35) who shared a 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket to steer them towards the victory target after West Indies had been dismissed for a paltry 161.
The stand enabled Bangladesh to overcome the early losses caused by fast bowler Nelon Pascal - who finished with figures of 4 for 53 - who was supported by Shamarh Brooks whose ten overs cost just 27 runs.
Bangladesh came to Sri Lanka with great hopes of at least making it to the semi-finals of the competition, if not the final. Their track record before the tournament gave every indication that they were on course for it, too; of the 23 matches they played in the 12-month lead up to the tournament, they lost just three. In that time they beat Sri Lanka six times and lost to them three times. However, caught on a treacherous track against England in a quarter-final game at the Sara Stadium they were bundled out for 155 and lost the contest by five wickets.
West Indies, who won the toss and chose to bat, were reduced to 98 for 8 and would have been in deeper trouble had it not been for their ninth-wicket pair of Sunil Narine and Kemar Roach who indulged in a face-saving stand of 63 which formed the base of their final total.
After fast bowler Dollar Mahmud had ripped through the top order with three wickets, it was left to the left-arm spinners to cause further destruction to the West Indies batting. Nabil Samad (3 for 24) and Sakib al Hasan (2 for 32) rang rings around the West Indies batting with the support of Mehrab Hossain and Rezaul Islam. They captured seven wickets among them.
Bangladesh meet the winners of the Super League play off semi-final match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at the SSC on Thursday to decide the fifth and sixth placings.