Bangladesh take Plate championship

Bangladesh trounced Ireland by 195 runs in Napier to win the Plate Championship and secure the ninth place in the competition. The victory centred on a collective batting effort which helped Bangladesh post a formidable 307 for 6, and a hat-trick from seam bowler Kamrul Islam Rabbi which shut out Ireland.

Bangladesh, after being put in, built their innings by way of steady partnerships. The first three wickets yielded 98 runs, but the stand that swung the match in their favour was worth 119, between Mominul Haque, who top scored with 81 and captain Mahmudul Hasan (52). Then came the surge, as Shabbir Rahman (47 off 28) and Noor Hossain (31 off 12) smashed three fours and six sixes between them to take their team past 300. Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie bagged 4 for 59 but Bangladesh had too much on the board.

Opening bowler Alauddin Babu dented Ireland early in their reply, capturing three wickets. The burst helped reduce Ireland to 39 for 5 at one stage, a position from where they weren't able to recover. Ben Ackland's unbeaten 34 took his team past three figures but the end came early, thanks to Kamrul, who bowled Shane Getkate and Eddie Richardson and had Craig Young caught off consecutive deliveries.

Canada overcame Papua New Guinea in a tense encounter at Nelson Park to secure 11th place in the Under-19 World Cup. Canada's bowlers, led by three-wicket hauls from Parth Desai and Nitish Kumar, put in an impressive display, skittling out PNG for 145. Opener Heni Siaka top scored with 50, but, barring an opening stand of 65 with Lega Tau, there was a serious lack of support from the others. Only four batsmen managed to reach double-figures as Canada broke through frequently.

However, the Canadian reply began shakily. Fast bowler Raymond Haoda's double-strike helped PNG fight back, as they reduced Canada to 26 for 3. But the middle order then stepped up. Though the contributions weren't sizable, they were crucial enough to help PNG scrape through. Nitish chipped in with 38, Usman Limbada scored 21 and Arsalan Qadir held his nerve, making a patient 18 off 45 balls to see his team to victory with five balls to spare.