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Rabbi 'tricks' as Bangladesh win W Cup Plate Championship

January 28, 2010 18:44 IST

Bangladesh fast bowler Kamrul Islam Rabbi became the first bowler to record a hat-trick in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2010 as he bowled his side to a thumping 195-run victory over Ireland in the Plate Championship final at McLean Park in Napier on Thursday.

Kamrul dismissed Ireland's last three batsmen with successive deliveries in his fifth over as the European side was bowled out for 112 in 38.5 overs, after being set a difficult 308-run victory target.

He finished with figures of 4.5-0-21-3.

Kamrul started the riot when he clean bowled Shane Getkate and Eddie Richardson and then completed the rare distinction by having last-man Craig Young caught by Mahmudul Hasan.

Bangladesh had effectively cemented the win from the very onset as it effortlessly piled on runs to reach 307-8 in the allotted 50 overs.

The key partnership between captain Mahmudul Hasan and Muminul Hoque Showrav for the fourth wicket brought 109 runs in an exciting display of aggressive batting as the two flayed the tiring Irish attack at will.

Showrav contributed a 100-ball 81 that included five fours and a six while Mahmudul scored 52 runs off 64 balls with a four and a six.

Late cameos by Shabbir Rahman (47 off 24 balls with two fours and three sixes) and Nur Hossain (31 off 12 balls with one four and three sixes) later in the order allowed Bangladesh to score the last 107 runs from just 52 deliveries.

Ireland fast bowler Andrew Balbirnie was the only bowler to leave an impression on the dominant Bangladesh line-up by finishing with 4-59.

Ireland was never in the hunt after it was reduced to 39-5 in the 11th over before its innings, despite a 41-run sixth wicket partnership between Graham McDonnell (31) and Ben Ackland (34 not out), was wrapped up by Kamrul for 112 in 38.5 overs.

While Kamrul removed Ireland lower-order, his new-ball partner Alauddin Babu ran through the top-order to finish with 3-33 from 10 overs.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudul was pleased to win the Plate Championship title for the third time, the other two titles coming in 1988 and 2004.

"We've enjoyed the conditions here in Napier. The pitch at McLean Park has good pace and bounce. We batted exceptionally well today and everyone contributed to the team effort," he said.

Ireland's captain Andre Balbirnie was philosophical about the outcome of the match, but was pleased with the team's overall performance in the tournament. 

"It was a achievement for us to reach the Plate Championship final. But Bangladesh on the day was too good," he said.

In the 11th/12th position play-off, Canada snatched a close two-wicket win over Papua New Guinea (PNG) with five balls to spare in a low-scoring match at Nelson Park in Napier.

PNG openers Heni Siaka (50) and Lega Tau (24) put on 65 for the first wicket as the pair combined well and maximized the singles and twos to set the team up for what should have been a big total.

But Canada struck back, taking five wickets for 17 runs to decimate the middle-order and leave PNG reeling at 97-6 before it was bowled out for 147 in 47.1 overs.

Parth Desai and Nitish Kumar were the main destroyers for Canada, both finishing with figures of 2-23 each.

Canada struggled in its reply and was in trouble at 26-3 before Kumar (38) and Usman Limbada (21) consolidated the innings with a valuable 40-run partnership.

When Canada lost its eighth wicket, it still required 10 runs from 17 deliveries but Arsalan Qadir and Manny Aulakh achieved the required runs in 12 balls without being separated.