ICC U19 World Cup 2024: How Can Bangladesh U19 Team Qualify For Semifinal?

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ICC U19 World Cup 2024 turned interesting on Wednesday (January 31) when Bangladesh U19 comprehensively defeated Nepal U19 in their recent Super Six match in Bloemfontein. Bangladesh now have two wins from three games in the Group 1.

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.

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's 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).

Nepal elected to bat first after winning the toss. But the bowlers from Bangladesh never gave the Nepali hitters any momentum at all. Bangladesh needed 49.5 overs to finish Nepal's innings with a total of 169 runs. The duo of Dev Khanal and Bishal Bikram (62 runs off 115 balls) showed considerable tenacity.

Bikram made 48 off 100 balls, while Khanal scored 35 off 60 balls. Only two batsmen, Subhash Bhandari (18) and Arjun Kumal (14) hit double figures after that. Today, spinners and medium-pacers both hit their marks.