Bangladesh U19 beat gallant Hong Kong U19 by 4 wickets

Bangladesh U19 have beaten a gallant Hong Kong U19 by 4 wickets in an ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2010 Plate Championship quarter-final match at McLean Park, Napier.

Chasing 157 for victory, Bangladesh U19 were made to fight all the way but they eventually eased to their target in the 41st over for the loss of six wickets. Muminul Showrav top scored for Bangladesh U19 with 35 from 51 balls and he received good support in the middle order from Mahmudul Hasan (21) and Shabbir Rahma (22) while Anamul Haque hit 23 from 24 balls at the start of the innings. Irfan Ahmed bowled his best spell of the tournament and he picked up two wickets for 29 runs from ten fiery overs. Aditya Kanthan also bowled an excellent spell to grab two wickets in four overs. The other wicket-takers for Hong Kong were Alex Smith and Asif Khan. For once, Hong Kong U19 also had an excellent day in the field as they held on to the three chances that came their way.

Earlier in the day, Hong Kong U19 scored 156 after winning the toss and deciding to bat first. As has been their penchant to do in previous games, Hong Kong U19 lost a wicket early - this time it was Ashish Gadhia who was run out without facing a ball while attempting for a third run. Vikash Gope, playing in his first game of the tournament, then saw his skipper James Atkinson (2) edge a catch to Bangladesh U19 wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan from the bowling of Kamrul Islam Rabbi with the total on just 5. Irfan Ahmed came to the wicket and he combined well with Vikash for a partnership worth 49 runs. Vikash fell LBW to Shaker Ahmed for a solid 26 from 57 balls and his dismissal triggered a mini-collapse that saw Hong Kong slump from 2-54 to to 5-66 after 20 overs. Mark Chapman (10) and Irfan Ahmed (22) both made good starts but once again they failed to go on to make big scores after getting well set. An excellent 50-run partnership between Waqas Barkat and Nizakat Khan lifted Hong Kong U19 to 116 before Waqas (25) was bowled attempting an outrageous reverse slog-sweep to gift Shaker Ahmed his third wicket of the innings. Nizakat continued to bat well but he was unable to find a suitable partner as the tail-enders offered little resistance to the Bangladesh U19 attack. Alex Smith (5) became Shaker Ahmed's fourth victim when he was stumped by Nurul Hasan; Aizaz Khan (2) was run out; Asif Khan (0) was bowled by Shabbir Rahman while last man Aditya Kanthan (0) was well caught by Nurul Hasan off the bowling of Kamrul Islam Rabbi. Nizakat batted through to the end and he finished undefeated on 56 from 90 balls, including two fours and one six, as Hong Kong U19 was dismissed for 156 in 49 overs.

Scorecard: Hong Kong U19 v. Bangladesh U19

Hong Kong U19 will have an opportunity to avenge their defeat by Afghanistan U19 when the two teams meet again in the Plate Championship Play-off match tomorrow. The match will played be played at McLean Park. Hong Kong U19 will go into the match with a renewed confidence following their good all-around effort against Bangladesh U19.