West Indies beat Bangladesh, will meet India in final

India – Ishan Kishan (capt.), Rishabh Pant (vice-capt), Khaleel Ahmed, Zeeshan Ansari, Rahul Batham, Ricky Bhui, Mayank Dagar, Armaan Jaffer, Sarfaraz Khan, Amandeep Khare, Avesh Khan, Mahipal Lomror, Shubham Mavi, Anmolpreet Singh, Washington Sundar.

The West Indies, who had also reached the final when the tournament was staged in Bangladesh in 2004, will meet an undefeated India for the title here on Sunday. Even at this level, the pressure on the left-handed opener is vast but he exuded a lot of confidence in the press conference.

“We saw against Bangladesh … we were getting better and better all the time”. That’s most important. We will play the way we have been playing.

“We want to represent the West Indies but the financials on offer we can’t accept”, Sammy had written. Not so, our West Indies Under-19 cricketers.

Now we will all be holding our breath as the latest final gets underway, but win, lose or draw, we commend this group of teenagers for their resilience and talent and wish them well tonight and throughout the rest of their careers. “We are really well prepared for this game”, Miraz said on Wednesday. Both teams will be tempted to insert the opposition in. Kishan however, reckons facing excessive pace should not be a trouble for his boys. “If we become too excited or emotional, we won’t be able to able to play our natural game”. Fast bowler Keemo Paul removed the bails at the bowler’s end with the batsman a fraction out of his ground.

It was a thrilling semifinal, as the match kept on tilting this way or that way throughout the game. The young Fiji team was never able to cope up with such a huge task in front of them and whole team was back in the hut after scoring a paltry 78.

Leading in a World Cup final can often be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and hence a bit overwhelming. The Caribbean flavour has well and truly arrived at the Under-19 World Cup.

The surprising West Indies team, who pulled off a shocking upset of Pakistan to reach the semifinal – and prevent an all-Asian Final Four in the 2016 U19 World Cup – know that, in the words of their coach Graeme West, “we will not be playing against a team only, but a whole nation”.

“I am hoping common sense prevails, if everyone comes to a mutual understanding then I think it will be okay”. That pegged us back,”Miraz told reporters after the match”.

For the West Indies, excitement and self-belief is in abundance.

We are happy to say that this week the West Indies Under-19 cricket squad in Bangladesh for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup provided yet another stirring case for the annals. Hetmyer & Co. take enormous pride in their turnaround. We have not been in this space for about six years. The all-rounder came up with handy knocks of 37 and 62 not out to take his team home in the knock-outs. In fact, they are one of the strugglers today thanks to players battling the board and performances on the decline over the last two decades. The best bet would be the one-month free trial of Sling TV’s International Sports Package, which includes Willow. Where, then, will this contest be won and lost? So, the focus will be to concentrate for the initial part of play. “280 should be a good score, we will try for 300”. “I believe that at some point they may have to do some negotiations”, said Richards. We have an explosive batsman in Gidron Pope. He took 15 deliveries to get off the mark and the equation was still very much in the balance until he smashed 14 runs off Saeed Sarkar, the right-arm off break bowler, to get himself into the groove and turn the chase around.

“They are a good side”. Or will the West Indies spirit unnerve them?