Bangladesh beat Nepal to reach ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 semi-final

Two of the team's middle order batsmen, Zakir Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz remained the heroes of the match.

Bangladesh won a neck to neck battle against Nepal to win the Super League quarter-final and qualified for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 semifinal on Friday. Two of the team’s middle order batsmen, Zakir Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz remained the heroes of the match as they built up a match winning partnership and remained unbeaten to see their side emerge as the winners. With the win, Bangladesh become the first team to qualify for the semi-final of the major event that the same country are playing host to. Full Cricket Scorecard: Bangladesh vs Nepal, ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2016, quarter-final

Winning the toss, Nepal elected to bat first. The team thoroughly disappointed with their batting as only one batsman was able to go past 50. The opener Sandeep Sunar departed early making only 7 while number three Yogendra Singh Karki soon followed. Next in Raju Rijal was the only batsman to impress with his batting skills. Rijal stayed at the crease and gradually built his innings up and reached his half-century. The bowlers had no answer to the clever batting of Rijal and finally the Nepal captain was run out for 72 off 80. The player hit 8 fours and a six in the process. No other batsmen could make a mark with their batting performance and Nepal put up 211 with the loss of 9 wickets at the end of their 50 overs.

For Bangladesh, Mohammad Saifuddin took two wickets while Mehedi Hasan Rana, Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Saleh Ahmed Shawon took one wicket each.

Bangladesh, chasing the par score, looked quite confident. Though opener Saif Hassan departed for just 5 runs, the other opener Pinak Ghosh stayed there and scored an important 32. Next man in, Joyraz Sheik, also contributed with 38. But the main heroes behind were Zakir Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Both the batsmen made the chase look easy. They built up a fifth wicket partnership of 117 runs. Zakir Hasan hit a six and with that shot Bangladesh cruised into the semi-final of the event.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh Under-19 215 for 4 in overs 48.2 ( Zakir Hasan 75, Mehedi Hasan Miraz 55; Sunil Dhamala 2 for 33) won by 6 wickets vs Nepal Under-19 211 for 9 in overs 50 ( Raju Rijal 72; Mohammad Saifuddin 2 for 38)

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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