Young Tigers aim to go where no Bangladeshi has gone before
NTV Online
Dhaka: Bangladesh will take on West Indies in the 2nd semifinal of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Thursday, targeting a berth in the final of a world championship at any level.
The match will start at 9:00am local time.
The winners will play the final against a strong India at the same ground on Sunday (February 14).
Young Tigers’ top-order batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto said those who can keep mental strength will win the game. “We have to keep our courage and make right plan to achieve victory”, said the southpaw.
Bangladesh Under-19 Cricket Team’s success so far in the ongoing ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup has mostly come in hands of the skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz and his deputy Najmul Hossain Shanto.
However, Joyraz Sheikh, the top-order batsman said the Young Tigers are not only depending on the experienced duo.
“All of our batsmen are in good form. Playing wonderful cricket all-through the tournament we are now more prepared and confident”, he added.
Our side is not counting on the likes of Miraz and Shanto only,” said Joyraz.
As per the popular opinion, it came as a blessing for the Young Tigers when the West Indies beat Pakistan in the quarterfinal to set up a clash with Bangladesh in the semifinal. However, the promising batsman sang a different tune.
“We did not target any side as our opponent in the semifinal.
However, we have some advantage over the West Indies as we played quite a few matches and series against them previously. We know their players pretty well,” he said.
Earlier, the junior tigers had advanced to the semi final for the first time by defeating Nepal by six wickets in a breath-taking match on February 5.
Although Bangladesh faced an early jolt by losing four top order batsmen at 98 runs, wicket-keeper batsman Zakir Hasan and skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz steadied the ship with a 117-run stand for the fifth wicket partnership.
Zakir and Miraz showed outstanding batting display while the duo remained unbeaten 75 and 55 respectively.