BD A draw level

Opener Soumya Sarkar raises his bat after reaching his half-century at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium yesterday. His 83-ball 86 led Bangladesh A to a six-wicket win over Zimbabwe A. PHOTO: STAR

Bangladesh A bounced back to level the series as they won the rain-interrupted second one-dayer against Zimbabwe A by six wickets at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium yesterday.
Soumya Sarkar hit 86 after claiming two crucial wickets as the home side reached the revised target of 158, losing four wickets in 31.4 overs in reply to the visitors' 163 for nine in their 50 overs.
The second-string Bangladesh side had lost the first match by 17 runs and after the outcome of yesterday's match, today's third and final game at the same venue turned into a series decider.
Rain stopped play after 31.1 overs with the hosts on 156 for 4 and when play resumed after an hour, the revised target was set at 158 in 47 overs and they collected those two runs in three deliveries without any further casualty.
Earlier, opting to bat, the tourists lost wickets at regular intervals and did not have a big partnership to set a challenging total for the home side. Captain Vusi Sibanda was the top scorer, making 74 runs amid the batting collapse.
Openers Soumya and Liton Das started the reply steadily and gave their team a solid platform by adding 80 runs in 17.3 overs. Soumya struck 12 fours and a six during his 83-ball knock.
Zimbabwe A spinners Wellington Masakadza and Tafadzwa Kamungozi caused a commotion in the middle order in the Bangladesh A innings but Naeem Islam and Mosaddek Hossain ensured that they reach home without any further hiccup.

SCORES IN BRIEF
ZIMBABWE A: 163-9 in 50 overs (Sibanda 74, Mupariwa 19; Soumya 2-23, Sunny 2-29, Jubair 2-28)
BANGLADESH A: 158-4 in 31.4 overs (Soumya 86, Liton 29; Kamungozi 2-52, Masakadza 2-18)
Result: Bangladesh A won by six wickets.