U19 World Cup 2018: 4th Quarter-Final, India vs Bangladesh- 5 Talking Points

The knock-out stages of the ICC Under-19 World Cup have well and truly got on its way following the encounter between India and Bangladesh in Queenstown. After the three matches, Bangladesh and India clashed at Queenstown for the last Quarter-Final game. However, it was India who comprehensively humbled Saif Hasan’s men by 145 runs.

Meanwhile, they also set up a semi-final clash with arch-rivals Pakistan on the 30th at Christchurch. After winning the toss, India posted a 265 on the board, which seemed a challenging task on the track. Bangladesh struggled to find momentum and kept losing wickets, which didn’t help their cause.

Nevertheless, the game had several intriguing moments and we take you through five of them in our article.

1. Shubman Gill’s rich vein of form

Shubman Gill commenced his World Cup campaign with a breezy half-century against Australia. He didn’t get an opportunity against Papua New Guinea courtesy India’s ten-wicket victory. He was entrusted to open the batting against Zimbabwe and ceased to disappoint one bit. In the Quarter-Final against Bangladesh, he notched 86 runs off 94 balls and laid the platform for a blistering finish. During his knock, the Punjab batsman spanked nine glorious boundaries and built a healthy stand with skipper Prithvi Shaw.

After Shaw’s dismissal, Gill carried on and stitched a 74-run stand with Harvik Desai. However, his knock was cut short on the brink of his maiden century in the event. Nayeem Hasan accounted for his dismissal as the ball kept low to take the outside edge of Gill’s willow and nestled into Mahidul Islam’s gloves.

2. Nayeem Hasan- The pick of Bangladesh’s attack

Nayeem Hasan had just a solitary wicket to his name in the ongoing tournament in New Zealand. However, he has been difficult to get away as he has shown discipline in his line and lengths. Indian batsmen are regarded as efficient players of spin. However, even they struggled to gauge the guile and trajectory of Nayeem and subsequently, didn’t take any undue risks against the turner. Nevertheless, despite the Indians being circumspect against him, the Chittagong-born spinner churned out a couple of wickets in the middle-overs.

He nipped out Shaw’s wicket when was looking ominous for another match-winning knock. In his next over, he cleaned up Harvik Desai as the ball cannoned into the stumps from the inside edge of Desai’s bat. He eventually finished with impressive figures of 10-0-36-2.

3. Abhishek Sharma’s composure

In a recent interview, Abhishek Sharma expressed his desire to acquire MS Dhoni’s skills as a finisher. He gave a glimpse of it with a quick-fire knock against Australia in India’s opening game at Mount Maunganui. However, India’s top-order batting ensured that he didn’t get a bat against PNG and Zimbabwe. Nevertheless, he played a wonderful hand against Bangladesh and steered India to a respectable score.

He notched his maiden half-century in the tournament, which was composed of six glorious boundaries. Abhishek took charge after the fall of Shubman Gill’s wicket. The Bangladesh spinners tied down the Indians by hitting immaculate channels. However, Abhishek showed nerves of steel and churned out runs. He was slow to start with but his inning gained momentum with the passage of time. He was dismissed by Hasan Mahmud off a mistimed pull shot.

4. Mavi and Nagarkoti impress again

Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti have grabbed the headlines with their raw pace ever since India’s opening game at Tauranga against Australia. The duo has carried forward their form in the upcoming games and have grown in stature as the tournament has progressed. Even against Bangladesh, they were clinical and dished out yet another stupendous show with the cherry.

The pacers couldn’t pick up a wicket in the first eight overs, however, they didn’t lose heart and bowled with venom throughout their spell. While Mavi got rid of Mohammad Naim and Mahidul Islam Ankon, Nagarkoti accounted for skipper Saif Hasan and Hasan Mahmud’s dismissal. Meanwhile, they dished out 60 dot deliveries to strangle the opposition. They also inflicted a couple of run-outs to dent Bangladesh’s confidence.

5. Pinak Ghosh- Bangladesh’s lone performer

Pinak Ghosh hasn’t fired with the bat during the ongoing tournament and has underperformed to a large extent. However, Bangladesh looked upon him to compile a substantial knock and shoulder their team forward in the latter stages of the tournament. On a difficult wicket to bat, Bangladesh were set a target of 266 by the India colts.

The onus lied on Ghosh to take them off to a decent start. He didn’t fire all guns blazing, but looked determined to get a substantial score under his belt. Bangladesh stumbled perilously and lost wickets at regular intervals. Nevertheless, amidst some shambolic cricket by the Bangladeshi batsmen, Pinak Ghosh looked the best among the lot with a knock of 43 runs off 75 balls. Anukul Roy eventually jolted Bangladesh with the wicket of Ghosh after which the Saif Hasan team collapsed alarmingly.