Vengeance on India's mind? Or will it be just another cricket match when the Indian colts face their Bangladeshi counterparts in the ICC Under 19 World Cup 2022, Super League quarter-final 2 on Saturday? Well, nothing is simple when the two cricket-mad countries meet in the field. Remember what happened two years ago in Potchefstroom!
In a repeat of last edition's final, fierce neigbours -- India and Bangladesh -- will clash for a place in the semi-finals of ICC U-19 World Cup 2022. The winners will take on Australia, and the losers face Pakistan for the fifth-place play-off in the 14th edition of the youth cricket world cup. In the other semi-final, England will face Afghanistan. England defeated South Africa by six wickets while Afghanistan produced a sensational four-run win against Sri Lanka in their respective quarter-finals. Australia hammered Pakistan by 119 runs.
India, the most successful side in the history of the tournament, were stunned by Bangladesh in the 2020 final. In that rain-affected match, Bangladesh had won the toss and dismissed India for 177 all out. India, however, hit back by getting the top five for 85 runs with future star Ravi Bishnoi producing a magical spell. But Bangladesh skipper Akbar Ali hit an unbeaten 43 off 77 to complete the task, then the colts almost came to blows.
In the last meeting, at the U-19 Asia Cup 2021-22, India beat Bangladesh by 103 runs to enter the final.
So, expect another high-voltage clash tonight.
India will be near full-strength with the return of regular skipper Yash Dhull, his deputy Shaik Rasheed and three more players, who were forced to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19. But the four-time champions will miss prodigious spinner Nishant Sindhu, who led India in the absence of Dhull. Also, India have named Aaradhya Yadav as Vasu Vats' replacement. Vats is the latest Indian player to test positive for the virus.
Elsewhere, two plate matches have been canceled after nine COVID-19 cases in the Canada squad.
India are unbeaten and topped Group B with six points from three wins. Meanwhile, Bangladesh finished second in Group A, behind England, with four points.
How they qualified for the knock-outs
India have defeated South Africa U-19 by 45 runs in their opener. It was followed by massive wins against Ireland U-19 and Uganda U-19 by 174 and 326 runs respectively.
Bangladesh U-19 lost theie first match by seven wickets to England U-19, but won the next two -- against Canada U-19 by eight wickets and UAE U-19 by nine wickets (DLS method).
Match and telecast details
Match: ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup, Super League Quarter-Final 2, India U19 vs Bangladesh U19
Date: January 29 (Saturday), 2022
Time: 6:30 PM IST/ 9:00 AM Local
Venue: Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
TV Channels: Star Sports 1/HD, Star Sports Select 2/HD
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar
Playing XIs in the last match
India U-19: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harnoor Singh, Nishant Sindhu (c), Raj Bawa, Kaushal Tambe, Dinesh Bana (wk), Vicky Ostwal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Aneeshwar Gautam, Vasu Vats, Ravi Kumar.
Bangladesh U-19: Mahfijul Islam, Iftakher Hossain Ifti, Prantik Nawrose Nabil, Aich Mollah, Md Fahim (wk), Ariful Islam, SM Meherob, Rakibul Hasan (c), Ashiqur Zaman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Ripon Mondol, Tahjibul Islam, Musfik Hasan, Naimur Rohman, Abdullah Al Mamun.
Squads
India U19: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harnoor Singh, Nishant Sindhu(c), Raj Bawa, Kaushal Tambe, Dinesh Bana(w), Aneeshwar Gautam, Vicky Ostwal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vasu Vats, Ravi Kumar, Garv Sangwan, Aaradhya Yadav, Siddarth Yadav, Shaik Rasheed, Yash Dhull, Manav Parakh.
Bangladesh U19: Mahfijul Islam, Iftakher Hossain Ifti, Prantik Nawrose Nabil, Aich Mollah, Md Fahim(w), Ariful Islam, SM Meherob, Rakibul Hasan(c), Ashiqur Zaman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Ripon Mondol, Naimur Rohman, Abdullah Al Mamun, Musfik Hasan, Tahjibul Islam.
