Bangladesh, India Enter the Semi Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup

Bangladesh and India progressed through to the Semi-Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 being played in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh U19s defeat Nepal U19s by 6 wickets

In the first Quarter Final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup hosts Bangladesh faced off with Nepal, a team that had defeated New Zealand and Ireland in the group stages. Nepal won the toss and decided to bat first and they were jolted early to be 19-2 before their captain Raju Rijul took centre-stage. He played a fluent innings of 72 off just 80 deliveries and strung important partnerships with opener Sunil Dhamala (25) and 3 down Aarif Sheikh (21). But other than Raju, no other batsman could carry on to make a sizeable contribution. They also suffered due to poor running between the wickets loosing 4 wickets to needless run-outs. Nepal finished on 211-9 in their 50 overs.

Bangladesh lost opener Saif Hasan early to Dhamala and then lost three quick wickets of Pinak Ghosh, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Joyraz Sheik between the 20th and the 28th overs to leave them in a bit of strife at 98-4 and still requiring over a hundred runs to win the tie. Wicket-keeper Zakir Hasan joined Captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz and the two first stopped the bleeding by running the singles hard and eased the pressure slowly by occasionally finding the boundary. The two displayed a mature and calm mind to steer the chase easily as both of them completed well deserved fifties. Zakir remained unbeaten on 75 off 77 deliveries while Mehedi made 55* off 65 balls. Captain fantastico Mehedi Hasan Miraz won the Man of the Match award for his excellent performance with both bat and the ball.

India U19s defeat Namibia U19s by 197 runs

Indian captain Ishan Kishan won the toss and elected to bat first. He did not enjoy a long stay in the middle though and was dismissed for just 6 in the 3rd over. But Rishabh Pant who had made the fastest U19 50 in the last match against Nepal carried on from where he had left and first shared a huge 100 run partnership with Anmolpreet Singh (41) and then another 50 run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan before being dismissed for a peppy 111 off just 96 balls. Namibia failed to apply any kind of pressure on the Indian line up as Sarfaraz (76 off 76 balls), Armaan Jaffer (64 off 55 balls) and Mahipal Lomror (41 off 21 balls) all made significant contributions right till the end to help India post a mammoth 349-6 in their 50 overs.

Namibia started the chase reasonably well with the openers, Eaton and Davin putting on 59 in the 10th over but the wicket of Davin opened the floodgates and Namibia continued to lose wickets in a heap. Mayank Dagar and Anmolpreet Singh were the pick of the Indian bowlers picking up 3 wickets each. Namibia were bowled out for a meagre 152 runs thus handing India a humongous win by 197 runs and paving their way through to the Semi Final stage of the ICC U19 World Cup.

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Sri lanka, Pakistan Enter the Quarter Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup

Pakistan and Sri Lanka from Group B cruised through to the Quarter-Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup being played in Bangladesh.

Pakistan U19s defeat Canada U19s by 7 wickets

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first and they had a steady, if not a spectacular start. Their opener Bhavindu Adhihetty added 60 for the second wicket with Amish Taploo and then had a stand of 49 with his skipper Abraash Khan. Things were looking bright for Canada as they were 139-5 in the 39th over but their lower middle order could not keep up and crashed to give two run-outs to the Pakistan side. They were all out in the 49th over for just 178. Left arm spinner Hasan Khan claimed 3 for 36 in his 10 overs while leg break bowler Shadab Khan snaffled two for 44 off his 10.

In reply to Canada's 178, Pakistan started off well with an opening partnership of 51 between Openers Zeeshan Malik and Gauhar Hafeez. Zen had another huge partnership of 108 runs with Saif Badar for the third wicket. Zeeshan remained unbeaten scoring a valuable match winning innings of 89 off 122 balls which included nine boundaries and a six. The win propelled Pakistan to the Quarter Finals after they had also won their opening game against Afghanistan.

Sri Lanka U19s defeat Afghanistan U19s by 33 runs

Sri Lanka U19 faced Afghanistan U19 at Sylhet and their captain Charith Asalanka won the toss and decided to bat first. The Sri Lankan openers provided a steady start and looked to be set before losing their way to go from 48-0 in the ninth over to 96-5 in the twenty seventh. Sri Lanka was given a close shave by the Afghans at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 held in Australia and their U19 team was repeating the dose. But the Lankan skipper, who has been in Fantastico form lately, had other ideas. He batted superbly to score a fighting 71 off 91 balls with 8 boundaries and a six. Sri Lanka again lost their way towards the end to finish with a below par 184 all out in the 48th over. For Afghanistan, off spinner Shamsurrahman picked up 3 wickets in his 10 overs while giving away only 18 runs in the process.

Afghanistan were well placed at 51-1 in the 15th over but like Sri Lanka they lost their way to slump to 91-6 in the 31st over. Lower order batsman Waheedullah Shafaq cracked a run a ball 47 but it was too little too late. Afghanistan were bowled out for 151 in the 45th over. Charith Asalanka chipped in with two wickets in his six overs while Kamindu Mendis picked up three thus making sure that the Sri Lankans booked their ticket to the Quarter Finals of the world event.

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India, Nepal Enter the Quarter Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup

India and Nepal from Group D progressed through to the Quarter-Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 being played in Bangladesh.

Nepal U19s defeat Ireland U19s by 8 wickets

Ireland won the toss and elected to bat first but struggled against a disciplined Nepal attack. They lost both their openers by the 18th over with the score on 42. Sandeep Lamichhane, a right arm leg break bowler then proceeded to wreak havoc on the Irish U19 side with his spin bowling.

He first dismissed Gary McClintock in the 23rd over and then returned to claim a hat trick in the 32nd over of the Irish innings when he had Lorcan Tucker caught at mid-wicket off the fourth ball, Adam Dennison caught behind off the fifth ball and then clean bowled Fiachra Tucker to secure his hat-trick and sparked wild celebrations.

Ireland were reeling at 92-8 in the 39th over but a 30 by Harry Tector carried them to 131 in their allocated 50 overs. Lamichhane returned with stunning figures of 5-27 off his 10 overs while all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee claimed 2-18 in his 7 overs.

Nepal lost their opener Sandeep Sunar off the very first ball of the chase but Yogendra Singh Karki’s unbeaten 61 and his partnerships of 55 with Sunil Dhamala and 77 with Aarif Sheikh sealed the match for Nepal in the 26th over.

India U19s defeat New Zealand U19s by 120 runs

New Zealand won the toss and inexplicably sent in India to bat first on a pitch that was expected to get more difficult bat on. India slipped to 19-2 in the 6th over and the going was slow for India but Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan stabilised the innings with fluent half centuries. Pant fell for 57 in the 27th over but Sarfaraz carried on with Armaan Jaffer. Sarfaraz made a very good 74 off just 80 balls before he fell playing a cute shot.

India slipped to 165-5 but sensible batting by Armaan Jaffer and Mahipal Lomror took India to 258 off their 50 overs. Armaan and Lomror made 46 and 45 respectively. For the Kiwis Zak Gibson snared three wickets in his 10 overs.

New Zealand had a horrid start to their innings as fast bowler Avesh Khan doomed the Kiwi top order with his high impact bowling as he snared their top 4 to leave New Zealand tottering at 16-4 in the 11th over. There was no way that the Indian team could have lost the match after the dream start and they soon slumped to 88-8. They would get bowled out for just 138 in the 32nd over to crash out of the U19 World Cup. Mahipal Lormor scalped 5 wickets in his 7.3 overs while giving away 47 runs while Avesh took 4 for 32 in his 10 in the process hurtling India through to the Quarter Finals.

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Bangla Stun Protea, Nepal Sink New Zealand - ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016

Bangladesh made a winning start to their campaign by defeating South Africa by 43 runs on the opening day of the ICC U19 World Cup. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first on a track that was expected to take turn later on. They rode of a couple of 40's from Pinak Ghosh and Joyraz Shiek while Nazmul Hossain Shanto top scored with 73 off 82 balls and who provided the finishing touches. South African seamer Wiaan Mulder was the pick of the Protea bowler who picked up 3 crucial wickets while giving away only 42 runs in his 9 overs.

South Africa had a disastrous start as they slumped to 60-4 struggling against the spin overdose that the Bangla captain fed them with. Only opener Liam Smith batted with some confidence but he was too slow at the start as South Africa continued losing wickets. Bangla fast bowler Mohammad Saifuddin picked up three wickets while their spinners all strangled South Africa going at less than 4 runs per over. Bangla captain and off break bowler, Mehedi Hasan Miraz was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowling as he picked up 3 wickets in his 9.4 overs. Other Bangladeshi spinners, off break bowler Saeed Sarkar picked up two while slow left arm Saleh Ahmed Shawon picked up two as well. All their spinners went at a run rate of less than 4. The impact that the Bangla spinners had on the South African batting was immeasurable and secured for Bangladesh a famous victory.

On the second day of the ICC U19 World Cup, a peppy Nepal team stunned New Zealand by defeating them at Fatullah by 32 runs. New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. All the Nepal batsmen made made starts but none of them could carry on to make a big score. Middle order bat Raju Rijul made the highest score of 48. Nepal were propelled towards a relative good score of 238 by an impactful innings by Kushal Bhurtal who smashed a 35 off just 23 balls towards the end of the innings. For the Kiwis Nathan Smith took 3 wickets.

New Zealand team lost regular wickets as medium pace bowler Dipendra Singh Airee snaffled 3 wickets in only 5 overs and off break bowler Prem Tamang took out 2 while giving away just 38 runs in his 10 overs. New Zealand also suffered three run outs which probably proved the most crucial in the final analysis. For them, opener Glenn Phillips top scored with 52 off 68 balls. Dale Phillips made a valiant 41 down the order but could not save New Zealand as they collapsed to 206 all out.

All in all it has been already been Fantastico two days at the ICC Under 19 World Cup which has seen two supposedly weaker teams going on to defeat much stronger nations and I hope to see more in the days to come.

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Modern Superstars who Shone at the ICC U19 World Cup - Part II

In this Part II of my ‘Modern Superstars who Shone at the ICC U19 World Cup’ series I will look at 5 more players who represented their countries at the U19 level before blossoming out and becoming important members of their senior teams. All of these cricketers have had a great impact on the game and continue to enthral us with their talent and verve. Read the Part I of the series here - Modern Superstars who Shone at the ICC U19 World Cup - Part I

Greame Smith

Greame also played in the 2000 edition where he finished as the leading run scorer for the Proteas with 348 runs at an average of 87. Greame would go on to lead the South African side with great distinction after being appointed as the captain at a tender age of just 22. He was an adept opening batsman in both test and ODI formats of the game. He scored over 9000 test runs and almost 7000 ODI runs at averages of 48 and 38 respectively.

Alastair Cook

Cook made his first appearance in the 2004 edition of the ICC U19 World Cup and impressed everybody who saw the young lad. He would make his debut for England at the age of 21 and become the youngest Englishman to reach 1500, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 test runs. He has already played 126 test matches for the English and is on the verge of 10000 runs at the age of just 31.

Virat Kohli

The young Indian batsman made his appearance at the ICC U19 World Cup at Malaysia played in 2008 and made an immediate impression as a batsman and as a captain. India won that tournament and the world for the first glimpse of his brashness and aggression. He has, since then, come a long way sealing his way in all the formats in the Indian team as a middle order batsman. He also leads India in test match format. He is currently one of the best ODI batsmen going around having already scored an astounding 25 tons and over 7000 runs!!

Tim Southee

Tim Southee was also a part of the 2008 edition of the ICC U19 World Cup that India went on to win. Tim made his debut against England the same year and claimed a 5-fer and scored a whirlwind fifty. He has since then been one of the best exponents of swing bowling and forms a formidable partnership with Trent Boult. His most memorable spell in ODI's came when his 7-33 destroyed England in the World Cup 2015.

Trent Boult

Southee's partner in crime at the senior level, Trent Boult, also played with him at the 2008 edition of the ICC U19 World Cup. Along with Southee, Boult has formed the most potent new ball bowling attack in test cricket in the last few years. He is a master of swing bowling and possesses a dangerous yorker. He has played 37 tests for the Kiwis and already has 142 wickets with 5 5 wicket hauls.

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Modern Superstars who Shone at the ICC U19 World Cup - Part I

ICC U19 World Cup is a great platform for young and upcoming players to showcase their talent and make a name for themselves. It also gives the spectators a glimpse in to what the future holds and what to expect from the coming generation of players.

With the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 beginning today in Bangladesh let us look back at the players who went on to become stars and who had a great impact on the game at the senior level as well. I will do this in a two part series called 'Modern Superstars who Shone at the ICC U19 World Cup' with each series focusing on 5 players.

Nasser Hossain

Born in India, Nasser played in the inaugural U19 tournament held in Australia in 1988. He went on to become one of England's finest captains having led them in 43 test matches and securing some of their most famous series victories. He played 96 tests in total and scored over 5500 runs with an average of almost 38.

Sanath Jayasuriya

He played for Sri Lanka in the 1988 edition too and went on to become the most valuable ODI cricketer to have ever played the game. He revolutionized the game with his batting in the 1996 World Cup which Sri Lanka won. He played 110 test matches and 445 ODI matches and his name is etched as one of the most destructive batsman that the game has ever seen. He was also a very handy slow left arm bowler who claimed over 300 ODI wickets

Mushtaq Ahmed

The Pakistani leg spinner also played with Nasser and Sanath in the 1988 U19 tournament. He went on to pick 19 wickets at a paltry average of 16 in that tournament and finished as the leading wicket taker. He played 52 test matches and 144 ODI matches for Pakistan and formed a potent partnership with Saqlain Mushtaq.

Chris Gayle

The destructive batsman first represented West Indies at the U19 World Cup held in 1998. He would be the highest scorer in that tournament with 364 runs at an average of almost 73. Gayle is perhaps the best T20 player that there has ever been and his impact on the game is immeasurable. He also has a test triple century and is a handy spin bowler too. He has played over 100 and 250 test and ODI matches respectively for West Indies.

Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj made his first appearance for India at the U19 ICC Cricket World Cup in 2000. He made several telling contributions in that tournament and was given the Man of the Series award as India won under the captaincy of Kaif. Yuvraj would then go on to replicate his early success by being one of India's best middle order batsmen in the ODI and T20 format. He would help India lift the 2011 World Cup at home with his high impact batting and bowling.

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