‘Bangladesh is not a favorite‘

Namibia U19 coach Rangarirai Norbert Manyande ruled out Bangladesh U19 as the favourites when the home side meets his super-charged troop in the U19 World Cup at the Sheikh Kamal International Stadium in Cox’s Bazar. With both teams on two wins, the winners today will top Group A.

“Bangladesh is not a favorite in any way. We are ahead of them in the table through the net run-rate. They are a Test playing nation which is why they are favourites. But (today) both teams are equal; there’s no favourite,” said the former Zimbabwean cricketer Rangarirai yesterday.

“We will definitely want to finish as group champions. We know what’s awaiting us. We didn’t play against this Bangladesh team but we played against them in 2014 World Cup.

“We are quite confident having won the first two matches in this tournament. Bangladesh are obviously used to the conditions but if we play the same way, I don’t see why we can’t win,” said the former Namibian pace all-rounder.

Having qualified seven times, their achievement this time is the best in their U19 World Cup history. Their previous best was the 11th position they attained in the 16-team U19 World Cup in 2008 in Malaysia.

“We have a lot to do in this tournament. We want to prove that yesterday’s win (against South Africa) wasn’t a fluke. We want to go as far as possible in this tournament. We knew that we could surprise a few teams, and we have shown it,” said Rangarirai.