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ICC U-19 World Cup 2024 turned interesting on Wednesday (January 31) when Bangladesh U-19 comprehensively defeated Nepal U-19 in their Super Six match in Bloemfontein. Bangladesh now have two wins from three games in the Group 1.
An impressive five-wicket triumph over Nepal in their opening Super Six clash has kept Bangladesh in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals and they know exactly what is needed heading into their encounter against Pakistan, report agencies.
That earns them four points and has placed them third on the table behind India and Pakistan, who have won all of their three matches so far. Pakistan are second on the points table with an inferior run rate to their arch-rivals.
With two semifinal spots available from the group, India's top spot seems inevitable as the unbeaten side starts massive favourite Nepal in its final Super Six match. This makes the other group game between Pakistan and Bangladesh on Saturday (February 3) a virtual quarterfinal, with the winner taking the remaining semis spot.
Bangladesh will qualify for the final four if they defeat Pakistan by a margin that will boost their net run rate past their Asian rival, leaving them likely to fill second place in Group 1.
A loss to Pakistan - or a narrow victory - will mean Bangladesh miss out on a semi-final berth.
In case of a tie due to match abandonment, Pakistan will qualify by higher points while super over and Duckworth-Lewis Method increases the possibility of a result. It is also important to note that the remaining three teams in Group 1 are already out of contention with fourth-placed New Zealand just winning one of their three games while Nepal and Ireland didn't win a game yet.
Nepal's batting order was completely destroyed by Sheikh Paevez Jibon (3/34) and Rohanat Doullah Borson (4/19). As a result, Nepal finished their innings with 169-10 (49.5 overs), with Bishal Bikram scoring the most with 48 runs off 100 balls. After that, Bangladesh ended the match with brilliant knocks by Jishan Alam (55 runs off 43 balls) and Ariful Islam (59 runs off 38 balls).