India, West Indies also qualify for semi finals: ICC Under-19 World Cup
DHAKA, Feb 26: India and the West Indies joined Pakistan and England in the semifinals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup after beating Sri Lanka and South Africa respectively in the Super League round on Thursday.
The semifinal pairings will be only decided after England and Pakistan face each other at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium on Friday. If Pakistan win Group-II, they will meet West Indies in the second semi-final on Tuesday.
India qualified for Sunday's first semi-final with a 56-run victory against Sri Lanka under lights at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Shikhar Dhawan hammered his third century of the tournament when he scored 146 off 136 balls as the Indians posted 316 for five in the 50 overs. The opening batsman stroked 19 fours and a brace of sixes as India made a fine recovery after being reduced to 39 for three in the eighth over.
Dhawan and Suresh Raina (54 off 88 balls, four fours) came together in a fourth-wicket stand worth 134. Wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik also batted superbly to blast four sixes and six fours in an undefeated 70 off only 39 deliveries, while adding 115 with Dhawan for the fifth wicket.
Slow left-armer Praveen Gupta then grabbed three for 25 in eights as Sri Lanka subsided from a promising 83 for one to 201 for seven in the 36th over despite opener Upul Tharanga's 61 off 42 balls. The islanders were eventually dismissed for 260 in 46 overs.
A century by Xavier Marshall led West Indies into the semifinals with a 34-run win against South Africa at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium. The opener struck 106 off 133 balls - hitting eight fours and a six - to guide his side to 284 for six in 50 overs.
South Africa, in reply, were all for 250 off the final delivery of their innings. Ravi Rampaul, the fast bowler who played for the senior West Indies team in South Africa recently, captured three for 41.
Australia, who surprisingly failed to defend their World Cup crown after being knocked out in the preliminary round, ended Nepal's hopes of reaching the last four stage of the Plate Championship with a six-wicket victory.
Scotland booked their place in the Plate semifinals after cruising to a seven-wicket success against Papua New Guinea.
Results of matches played on Thursday:
Super League:
At Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka:
India beat Sri Lanka by 56 runs.
INDIA 316-5 in 50 overs (S. Dhawan 146, K.K.D. Karthik 70 not out, S. Raina 54; P.U.M. Chanaka 3-63);
SRI LANKA 260 in 46 overs (W.U. Tharanga 61, H.E. Vithana 37, J.K. Silva 28 not out G.T. de Silva 26; P. Gupta 3-25, A.T. Rayudu 2-47).
At Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Dhaka:
West Indies beat South Africa by 34 runs.
WEST INDIES 284-6 in 50 overs (X.M. Marshall 106, T. Maraj 34, J.C. Augustus 33, L.M.P. Simmons 30, Z. Khan 26 not out; R. van der Merwe 2-30);
SOUTH AFRICA 250 in 50 overs (M. Silwana 42, D. van Wyk 41, V.B. van Jaarsveld 40, C. Bowyer 32, V. Pennazza 27; R. Rampaul 3-41, R. Bachan 2-46, L.A. Sebastien 2-46).
Plate Championship:
At Chittagong Divisional Stadium:
Australia beat Nepal by six wickets.
NEPAL 154-9 in 50 overs (P. Khadka 33; S.N.J. O'Keefe 2-22, T.D. Paine 2-24, M. Henriques 2-26, C.S. Huckett 2-30);
AUSTRALIA 158-4 in 36.2 overs (A.J. Crosthwaite 50 not out, A.R. Beadle 49 not out; M. Shrestha 3-46).
At M.A. Aziz Stadium, Chittagong:
Scotland beat Papua New Guinea by seven wickets.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 114 in 32.2 overs (V. Kila 34; R.T. Lyons 3-33, K.J. Coetzer 2-20, M.M. Iqbal 2-25, G. Goudie 2-30);
SCOTLAND 115-3 in 26.4 overs (I.D.K. Young 30, M.M. Iqbal 30).
Friday's fixtures:
Super League: England v Pakistan (Bangladesh Sports Institute, Savar); New Zealand v Zimbabwe (Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, D/N).
Plate Championship: Bangladesh v Ireland (Chittagong Divisional Stadium); Canada v Uganda (M.A. Aziz Stadium, Chittagong).-Agencies
Points Table
Following are the standings at the ICC Under-19 World Cup after Thursday's matches (tabulated under played, won, lost, no result, tied, points, net run-rate):
