Nepal, West Indies win nailbiters, Bangladesh cruise

Nepal and West Indies won thrilling contests against Afghanistan and England respectively; whereas Bangladesh were the comfortable winners against USA in the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024.

BANGLADESH TOO STRONG FOR THE USA

USA bowlers hit the right areas and controlled Bangladesh's scoring rate in the initial phase of the innings at Bloemfontein. While AshiqurRahman Shibli (27) and Chowdhury Md Rizwan (35) got starts, USA kept coming back with regular strikes.

Ariful Islam, who had missed out against Ireland after a well-made 41 against India, took the lead once more. Instead of going for the big shots, the batter relied on playing down the ground, and accumulated runs at a brisk pace. With Ahrar Amin's support, he helped pick Bangladesh's scoring rate. Closing in on the final Powerplay, the Tigers were ready to pivot towards a bigger total.

94 runs were added in the last Powerplay as Bangladesh put the foot on the pedal. Islam reached his three-figure mark, while a cameo from Shihab James (31 from 17) helped the young Tigers finish at 291.

USA batters were solid for the first 15 overs of their innings but preferred stability over adventure. While Bhavya Mehta was lost for five, Pranav Chettipalayam set in and went for his shots. Along with Siddarth Kappa, he got the North American side to 86 by the 24th over mark. Bangladesh's star with the bat, Islam, struck once more to send back Kappa. 

Chettipalayam was run out soon after to leave USA three down. Thereafter, Utkarsh Srivastava played a lone hand with his 37, while the rest of the side fumbled in the chase. Mahfuzur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers with his 4/31.

WINDIES EDGE ENGLAND IN CLOSE ENCOUNTER 

West Indies had lost quick wickets in pursuit of a modest England target.

Nathan Edward's left-arm prowess was at play early in the innings. The seamer bowled Jaydn Denly (0) in his very first over. Noah Thain joined skipper Ben McKinney, and the England innings took off in their characteristic positive fashion. 47 runs were added in the first Powerplay. When the fielding restrictions were removed, McKinney tried to loft Edward towards the leg side but was caught by Raneico Smith.

Thain and Hamza Shaikh ensured that England went at closer to five runs an over between 11-20, but the spin of Tarrique Edward disrupted this process. He got rid off Thain (40), when the batter tried to pull one towards the cow corner but failed to get the elevation and handed a catch to Nathan Sealy. An overambitious pull In Tarrique's very next over by Luc Benkenstein was brilliantly caught in the deep by Mavendra Dindyal to leave England four down.

The procession of wickets continued throughout the middle overs, with Sealy and Isai Thorne adding their name to the wickets column. Thorne got rid of Hamza in the 38th over to put West Indies on top. With only three wickets left, England's tail needed to ensure that they batted till the 50-over mark.

However, regular strikes from Smith and Nathan meant that they were bowled out by the 47th over.

As has been the case with the West Indies, the flow didn't stop in the runs column, even as wickets tumbled in the first Powerplay. Adrian Weir (0) fell in the very first over. Skipper Stephan Pascal got off to a positive start, but lost Joshua Dorne to Farhan Ahmed on the way. A spectacular cameo by Jordan Johnson (31 from 17) that lifted the Boys in Maroon. With four fours and two sixes, he took the attack to the England bowlers. It took a sharp take from Eddie Jack off Farhan to send Jordan back.

Dindyal's presence ensured that the scoring rate didn't dip, even as West Indies' ask came under 100. However, the impactful Tazeem Ali arrived to disrupt the West Indies innings. He cleaned up Dindyal and dangerman Jewel Andrew before the Boys in Maroon could cross 100. Now, Pascal was the rock of West Indies hopes. 

Nathan Edward played a good supporting act, just the way he'd done with Andrew against Scotland. Pascal kept knocking the ball around, and West Indies closed in on their target patiently.

An uncharacteristic charge by Pascal against Tazeem brought his downfall. This opened the gates of an England comeback. However, despite losing a couple of quick wickets, the West Indies overcame their ask in the 41st over. Nathan Edward, who had earlier starred with a brilliant 3/28, stayed unbeaten to see off the chase.

NEPAL PIP AFGHANISTAN IN NAILBITER

After Numan Shah fell to Gulshan Jha in the first over, it was all Aakash Chand for Nepal. The seamer ran through the Afghanistan top and middle-order, ensuring that the side was once more on backfoot after winning a toss and choosing to bat first.

The right-arm pacer troubled the Afghan batters with his good and full-length deliveries. Within 33 balls of his spell, Chand had a five-wicket haul. His most important wicket in this period was Hassan Eisakhil, who had dropped down to number four after consecutive failures at the top. While the batter managed to get a start, hitting four boundaries, he fell after he chipped a delivery straight to mid-off.

Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar then took the lead with the bat and hit a flurry of boundaries. Three towering sixes from his willow helped Afghanistan close in on the 100 run mark, a figure that they'd missed out against New Zealand. However, Ghanzafar couldn't stay the duration and fell in the 18th over to Tilak Bhandari. After hitting the bowler for a six and a four, Ghanzafar tried to pierce him past the off-side but found the point fielder. Skipper Naseer Khan Maroofkhil took the lead and along with Faridoon Dawoodzai stitched together a crucial ninth wicket stand.

Dipesh Kandel broke through this resistance by getting Maroofkhil in the 38th over. Afghanistan were bowled out by the 41st over.

The Rhinos struggled early in their chase. Arjun Kumal, Gulshan Jha and Bipin Rawal fell in the first Powerplay to the pace of Faridoon Dawoodzai and Khalil Ahmed. Skipper Dev Khanal then stabilised the innings with help from Aakash Tripathi. The duo managed to avert the Afghanistan spin threat, and rebuilt the innings. It was Maroofkhil who broke the crucial stand. Tripathi tried to dispatch the slow left-arm spinner over the covers but ended up giving a catch at extra cover.

The Afghanistan tweakers maintained their discipline and continued yielding turn off the surface. Their disciplined work yielded more wickets. Deepak Dumre edged one to slip off Arab Gul Momand. Maroofkhil then dispatched Dipesh Kandel to enter the Nepal tail.

Dipak Bohara's arrival changed the complexion of the game once more. Taking a lead in run-scoring after arriving at the wicket, he rebuilt the innings along with Khanal. 

And just when Nepal looked like they were steadying on the modest target, Afghanistan struck back. It was Khanal who was sent back first for 58 by Ghanzafar. Nepal struck another small stand for the eighth wicket, but Dawoodzai's left-arm pace was too hot to handle for the tailenders. From 140/7, the Rhinos lost two wickets for merely four runs. They needed two with just one wicket left.

A lucky wide ball off Momand in the 45th over helped tie the contest. Subash Bhandari maintained his calm and helped one behind the wicket off the fourth ball of the same over to win the contest by the barest of margins.