ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup Day 10 Preview
Even if it was routed by India and was subsequently in the news for an alleged age-related controversy involving Raju Rijal, its captain, the wins against New Zealand and Ireland, time spent with Rahul Dravid and the support of its fans in the stands should keep it warm.
Bangladesh had come into the tournament on the back of four series wins and one triangular competition final appearance, and according to its coach has been visualising playing the World Cup at home for more than a year now, while Nepal came through the qualifier route. The background counts for little in a pressure situation and Nepal will be keen to exploit that angle.
If it wins the toss and focuses on rotating the strike as advised by Dravid, then a score of 220 or 230 would give its spinners, who have been at the forefront of the campaign so far, a real chance of creating another upset.
No matter what the result, the expectedly large holiday crowd is assured of something special.
Teams (from):
Bangladesh U19: Mehedi Hassan Miraz (capt), Nazmul Hossain, Joyraj Sheik, Pinak Ghosh, Saif Hassan, Zakir Hasan (wk), Mohammad Saifuddin, Shafiul Hayat, Saeed Sarkar, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Abdul Halim, Saleh Ahmed, Ariful Islam, Jaker Ali, Mossabek Hossain Sun.
**Nepal U19:**Raju Rijal (capt), Dipendra Airee, MD Sunil Dhamala, Himanshu Dutta, Sushil Kandel, Kushal Bhurtel, Yogendra Karki, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishan Pandey, Shankar Rana, Prem Tamang, Arif Sheikh, Sandeep Sunar, Dipesh Shrestha, Rajbir Singh.
Zimbabwe U19 v Canada U19, 9th place play-off quarter-final
Sheik Kamal International Cricket Stadium Academy Ground
The first step towards Zimbabwe’s recovery after a hard-to-digest loss against West Indies will come against Canada in its Plate Championship opener at the Sheik Kamal International Cricket Stadium Academy Ground. For all the talk of it being unluckyto lose against West Indies in the manner that it did, the fact of the matter is that had it fared a tad better in either department, it could have secured victory before it got to that stage.
Zimbabwe could have used more runs from its top order, and Brandon Mavuta, the captain, said there was a need to keep wickets intact, especially in the early overs. “We have worked on it in the nets. Our aim is to not lose wickets in the first Power Play,” said Mavuta. “If we do that, it will extend the possibility of lasting the whole 50 overs with the bat. We need to last the first ten overs without losing wickets. We are working on it and with a little more application, it will hopefully go our way tomorrow.”
As far as Canada is concerned, its bowlers did well to chip away during the group stages, but that was offset by its batsmen, who showed a lack of composure and a worrying tendency to throw away their scalps. Zimbabwe’s bowlers did well against West Indies, and a similar performance here can prove too much for Canada. And from what Mavuta said, Zimbabwe is just itching to get on with the game.
Teams (from):
Zimbabwe U19: Brandon Mavuta (capt), Trevvor Chibvongodze, Jeremy Ives, Adam Keefe, Kundai Matigimu, William Mashinge, Wessly Madhevere, Rugare Magarira, Sydney Murombo, Ryan Murray, Richard Ngarava, Akshay Patel, Brendan Sly, Shaun Snyder, Milton Shumba.
Canada U19: Abraash Khan (capt), Bhavindu Adhihetty, Thursaanth Anantharajah, Akash Gill, Abdul Haseeb, Wijayaraj, Suliman Khan, Arslan Khan, Mamik Luthra, Miraj Patel, Shlok Patel, Kurt Ramdath, Sarbot Sivia, Harsh Thaker, Amish Taploo, Prushoth.
Afghanistan U19 v Fiji U19, 9th place play-off quarter-final
Sheik Kamal International Cricket Stadium
Throughout the league phase of the tournament, Ihsanullah Janat, the Afghanistan captain, insisted his team was setting the bar high, that it was aiming to win the World Cup. However, its batsmen have just been unable to keep their wickets intact – it was dismissed for 126 in theopener against Pakistan, then 151 against Sri Lanka, and also lost six wickets to Canada in a seeminglyeasy chase of 148.
The affliction isn’t likely to cost it against Fiji, which is playing its maiden World Cup and for whom the tournament is more a learning curve than anything else – it was soundly beaten in all its group matches. However, Afghanistan should keep in mind that the winner of this clash will face New Zealand in the 9th place playoff semi-final, and that perhaps, this is a good chance for its batsmen to tighten up.
Teams (from):
Afghanistan U19: Ihsanullah Janat (capt), Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar, Zahir Ahmadzai, Qais Hassan, Karim Janat, Ikram Ali Khail, Shamsurrahman Wali Khail, Zahir Khan, Muslim Musa, Nijat Masood, Parwiz Malikzai, Nasir Omar, Naveed Obaid, Waheed Shafaq, Tariq Stanikzai.
Fiji U19: Saimoni Tuitoga (capt), Josaia Baleicikoibia, Malakai Cokovaki, Petero Cabebula, Jack Charters, Jordan Dunham, Vaibhav Kapadia, Delaimatuku Maraiwai, Ledua Qionivoka, Samuel Saunokonoko, Cakacaka Tikoisuva, Peni Vuniwaqa, Sosiceni Weleilakeba, Tuwai Yabaki.
