Knockout phase arrives early for young Tigers

Former champions Bangladesh must prepare to win all of their Super Sixes matches of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, in order keep their semi-finals berth alive.

The tournament, which Bangladesh won in 2020 for the first time in history, had welcomed a new format for this edition -- with three teams from each of the four groups spilt into two groups of six.

The top three teams from Groups A and D were pitted in Group 1 of the Super Sixes, and the same pathway was followed for Groups B and C. Teams in the Super Sixes, however, will not play against the ones they encountered in the first round but clash against oppositions who occupied different positions in the other group.

Thus, the young Tigers, who qualified for the Super Sixes as Group A runners-up following a loss against defending champions India and a victory over Ireland in Group A, will take on Group D's third-place holders Nepal and its winners Pakistan on January 31 and February 03, respectively.

Since only two teams from each Super Sixes group will get to cement a spot in the last-four, the boys in red and green have their works cut out for them since title aspirants India and Pakistan enter the Super Sixes with four carry-on points – due to their wins over teams that qualified in the second phase – two more than Bangladesh and New Zealand while Ireland and Nepal have none.