Bangladesh all fired up to qualify for Under-19 final

KUALA LUMPUR: Bangladesh have been in unstoppable form in the preliminary rounds of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 tournament.

Having topped Group A with a perfect record of three wins, they will surely start as favourites when they face Pakistan in the first semi-final at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Puchong today (9.30am).

In the group stages, Bangladesh beat Nepal by two wickets, outplayed Malaysia by 262 runs and stunned favourites and defending champions India by eight wickets.

Pakistan finished as runners-up in Group B with two wins and a loss.

Pakistan lost by seven wickets to Afghanistan before bouncing back to beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 226 runs and last year’s runners-up Sri Lanka by three wickets.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Saif Hassan said that “we are all fired up to qualify for our first final”.

“We are all in high spirits after our impressive results in the group matches. We have been batting consistently well and our bowlers have also been doing well in getting the wickets,” he said.

“But Pakistan are a solid team and the semi-final will be a totally different ball game.”

Pakistan skipper Hassan Khan is relishing the challenge to end Bangladesh’s unbeaten run in the tournament.

“We hope to rise to the occasion against Bangladesh and qualify for the final,” said Hassan.

The second semi- final between Afghanistan and Nepal will be held at the Kinrara Academy Oval tomorrow.