ICC U19 World Cup | Mahmudul Hasan Joy sets Bangladesh-India clash in finals
Getty
A classy hundred from Mahmudul Hasan Joy helped Bangladesh clinch their maiden spot in an U19 World Cup final, beating New Zealand by six wickets in the second semi-final at Potchefstroom. Bangladesh will now take on four-time U19 champions India in the final on Sunday at the same venue.
Brief scores: New Zealand U-19 211/8 in 50 overs (Beckham Wheeler-Greenall 75*, Nicholas Lidstone 44; Shoriful Islam 3-45) lost to Bangladesh U-19 215/4 in 44.1 overs (Mahmudul Hasan Joy 100, Shahadat Hossain 40; David Hancock 1-31) by 6 wickets.
Bangladeshi skipper, Akbar Ali, did well to win the toss and put his troops into fielding first. His quicks responded by being right on the money from the word go. Shamim Hossain and Shoriful Islam led the charge in restricting the Kiwis to 74 for four in 26 overs. Though four of the top five New Zealand batsmen got starts, neither one of them managed to carry on while eating up a lot of deliveries.
Had it not been for Beckham Wheeler-Greenall's late blitz, where he managed to finish with an 83-ball 75, the Black Caps wouldn’t have much to bowl at. Shoriful remained the pick of the bowlers, despite going for plenty in his last over, with three for 45, while Hasan Murad chipped in with a tight spell of two for 34.
With 211 to defend, pacers Joey Field and Kristian Clarke rode the wave of momentum the Black Caps gained from the late onslaught. As a result of some tight overs at the top, they had Bangladesh at 32 for two in the ninth over. However, that was to be the last bit of real joy for the Kiwis.
Towhid Hridoy walked in at No.4 and seized the initiative scoring 40 out of his 68-run stand with Joy. Once he fell with the score at 100 for three, it was Joy’s turn to dominate the bowling while Shahdat Hossain, the new man in, played second fiddle in a 101-run stand. Joy completed his century with 13 fours but fell with his team a mere 11 runs away from victory. It was down to his skipper to apply the finishing touches on a historic day for Bangladesh cricket.
