Bangladesh thrash Nepal to stay alive

Bangladesh romped to a five-wicket victory against Nepal in their first match of the Super Sixes stage of the ICC U19 World Cup, keeping their chances of qualification for the semifinals alive.

The Young Tigers raced to the victory target of 170 in 25.2 overs, losing five wickets, thanks to aggressive knocks from opener Jishan Alam (55 off 43 deliveries) and middle-order mainstay Ariful Islam (59 not out off 37 deliveries). Subash Bhandari took all the five wickets for Nepal. 

Earlier, the boys in red and green skittled Nepal out for 169 runs in 49.5 overs after being asked to bowl first. Medium pacer Rohanat Doulla Borson took four wickets for 19 runs in 8.5 overs while off-spinner Sheikh Parvez Jibon took three wickets for 34 runs in 10 overs. 

The win took Bangladesh to four points overall. They trail India and Pakistan by two points, with India leading the table on six points. Bangladesh (NRR +0.348) will need to beat Pakistan (NRR +1.064) in their last Super Sixes game on Sunday and get the net run-rate above them to have any chance of finishing among the top two teams from the group to book a semifinals berth.