The England U19 defeated Bangladesh U19 by seven wickets, thanks to a great bowling effort by Joshua Boyden and a 44-run knock by Jacob Bethell, to claim their first win in the ICC U19 World Cup 2022.
Bangladesh set a low-scoring mark of 96 runs, which England chased down in their innings' 26th over.
England got off to a bad start as George Thomas was removed for 15 runs in the 9th over of the game. Rakibul Hasan followed up with another wicket in the 14th over after Ripon Mondol gave Tigers hope. Tom Prest, the captain of the Three Lions, was sent back on four.
The pair of Bethell and James Rew, on the other hand, was vital in the English team's victory. In the 25th over, Bethell was run out, falling six runs short of his well-deserved fifty.
Earlier, England's best bowler, Boyden, took four wickets for 16 runs, while right-arm fast bowler Thomas Aspinwall claimed two wickets for 18 runs.
In addition, Tom Prest (1/5), Fateh Singh (1/29), and James Sales (1/29) each grabbed one wicket. Bangladesh's decision to bat first backfired, as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 26 for 5 by the 14th over.
Bangladesh got off to a sluggish start in their innings, losing their first wicket in the fifth over, Mahfijul Islam.
Bangladesh kept losing wickets thereafter and were tottering at 51 for nine by the end of the 25th over. Bangladesh's struggle from the onset can be gauged from the fact that only four of their batters managed double-digit scores, with last man Ripon Mondal top-scoring with a 41-ball 33-run unbeaten knock. He hit five boundaries and one six during his innings.
Bangladesh's highest partnership was forged by the last wicket duo of Mondal and Naimur Rohman (11). They added 46 runs to take Bangladesh close to the 100-run mark.