MIRPUR (ICC) — West Indies broke Bangladeshi hearts with a thrilling three-wicket win in Mirpur this morning to make the final of the under-19 World Cup for the first time since 2004.

Shamar Springer took two wickets and finished unbeaten on 62 as West Indies chased down the 227 runs to win with eight balls to spare.

West Indies will meet an undefeated India team in the final in Mirpur on Sunday, in the first meeting between the two sides at the age-group level.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, will wonder what might have been, and ultimately there 226 all out on a slow pitch was never likely to be enough against a West Indies side who have improved as the tournament has gone on.

Mehidy Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, top-scored with 60, reviving the innings with a 85-run stand for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Saifuddin, after half the side had been dismissed for 113 runs.

Bangladesh lost openers Pinak Ghosh and Saif Hassan by the seventh over to make it 27 for two, and then slipped to 88 for four after Nazmul Hossain was dismissed for 11 and Joyraz Sheik fell for 35.

However, Mehidy led the recovery, hitting seven boundaries in Saifuddin’s company before both batsmen fell off successive deliveries by Keemo Paul.

Mosabbek Hossain denied the seam bowler a hat-trick, but Paul finished with impressive figures of three for 20 from just three overs, while Springer took two for 36.

In reply the West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals, keeping Bangladesh in the hunt for longer than they might have expected.

Gidron Pope provided the West Indies a swashbuckling start by taking 14 of the first over bowled by Mehidy, before racing to 38 off 25 balls, which included five fours and a six.

Shimron Hetmyer, the West Indies captain, took 16 deliveries to get off the mark before making a 59-ball 60 to lift his team to 147 for three in the 28th over.

West Indies moved to 177 for four, needing just 50 more runs in 13 overs, when left-arm spinner Saleh Ahmed turned the game around with two wickets in the 38th over.

Springer though kept his composure and punished the loose balls before ending the match with two consecutive boundaries through the covers off Saifuddin.

“It’s a great feeling and an even better feeling to be in the final, a dream come true,” Springer said. “It was quite a challenge out there, but I just backed myself to do well.”

Hetmyer praised his bowlers for keeping Bangladesh contained, and said he was excited about the prospect of facing India in the final on Sunday.

“Credit to the bowlers for not allowing Bangladesh to run up a big score,” he said. “It was a good wicket to bat on, but we did well to keep them down to 226.

“Springer was excellent as always. We lost quite a few wickets, but as long as Springer was out in the middle we knew we had a great chance.

“We are very excited about playing India in the final. It will be a very good contest.”

His counterpart, meanwhile, rued the lack of runs by the batsmen, but praised the team for giving the West Indies a good fight.

“It was a slow pitch, but 226 was not enough,” Mehidy said. “But I am happy with the way the team fought till the end. Till the last boundary, we thought we could win it.

“We are disappointed that we could not give our fans a win, but our biggest achievement was to reach the semi-finals for the first time. We will still try to finish third in the tournament.”