Bangladesh bowed out of the ICC U19 World Cup on Thursday, but with their heads high. The young Tigers suffered an agonising three-wicket loss at the hands of West Indies who will now play India in the final.It was a thrilling semifinal, as the match kept on tilting this way or that way throughout the game. Credit to Shamar Springer who kept his cool to lead his team to victory with a beautiful 59 off 88 balls.Chasing 227, the West Indies openers made a good start, scoring 44, only to be broken by the tragic hero of the day, skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Tevin Imlach was the first to return to the pavillion, soon to be follwoed by fellow opener Gidron Pope (38), but captain Shimron Hetmyer (60) and Keacy Carty (22) then added 62 runs to keep the Carribean dream going.Bangladesh bowlers soon came back to the game thanks to some wonderful work by Saleh Ahmed Shawon, as the West Indian team lost four wickets in the space of 34 runs. The Tigers faithful was rooting for a win that would have taken them to a historic final, but man-of-the-match Springer did spring a surprise, standing tall against the Bangladesh bowlers.
Shawon picked three wickets for the Tigers while Miraz and Mohammad Saifuddin took two wickets each.Batting first, Bangladesh made 226 thanks to Miraz’s controlled half century. Winning the toss, Miraz had opted to bat first, but the hosts lost both the openers inside the 7th over.Pinak Ghosh failed to add a single run to his name while Saif Hassan managed only 10, but one-down Joyraz Sheik came to the rescue, as his 35 and Zakir Hasan’s 24 helped the Tigers avert further disaster.Miraz and Saifuddin (36) then helped his team post a decent score as his 60 off 74 balls led the Tigers beyond 200.Keemo Paul was the most successful West Indies bowler, bagging three wickets while Chemar K Holder and Shamar Springer grabbed a brace apiece.
