Bangladesh Under-19 cricketers have qualified for the semifinals of the Plate Championship in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand after beating Hong Kong by four wickets in their quarterfinal clash at McLean Park in Napier yesterday.
Having won the toss, Hong Kong put up 156 runs before being all out in 49 overs, with the highest contribution coming from middle-order batsman Nizakat Khan (56 not out). Leg-spinner Shaker Ahmed was the most successful Bangladesh bowler with figures of four for 26. The other leg-spinner Shabbir Rahman and pacer Kamrul Islam took two wickets each.
Chasing this small total, Bangladesh too had a few hiccups of their own, but made it in the end with a few handy contributions scattered through the order. Middle-order batsman Mominul Haque got 35 runs while opener Anamul Haque (23), skipper Mahmudul Hasan (21) and Shabbir (22) chipped in with useful contributions to guide the team home with four wickets in hand and 56 balls to spare. Shaker Ahmed was named man-of-the-match.
Bangladesh take on Papua New Guinea, who beat Afghanistan by 30 runs in another quarterfinal yesterday, in the semifinal today.