Hosts in semis after defeat for Pakistan
The bowlers continued their fine form as Bangladesh posted a comfortable five-wicket victory against Hong Kong and reached the semifinal of the Under-19 Asia Cup yesterday. However, the victory at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium was not a good enough reason for the hosts to start celebrating, they had to wait for Sri Lanka to beat Pakistan at the MA Aziz Stadium.
Sri Lanka defended their total of 200 to secure a 23-run win as Pakistan could only get 177 for eight. The result ensured there were no run-rate equations which could have ended the host's campaign in the tournament.
Bangladesh lost their opening match against Sri Lanka but bounced back in their second match against Pakistan to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
"We reached the semifinal but I am not satisfied with our performance. The bowlers performed very well so far but our batting was still not up to the mark," said Bangladesh captain Towhid Hridoy.
Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain was once again the pick of Bangladesh's bowlers as his three-wicket haul helped bundle out Hong Kong for 91 runs in 46.5 overs and also brought him the man-of-the-match award.
In their chase, the hosts' top order again faltered as they lost four wickets for 40 runs.
But Akbar Ali and Mahmudul Hasan Joy added 58 runs for the fifth wicket, guiding the home side to the target in just 11.2 overs with five wickets to spare.
Ali struck 25 runs of 19 balls while Joy was unbeaten on 32 after his 20-ball knock.
"If we reached the target with a better run rate, we wouldn't have had to depend on the result of the day's other match. We will need to bat well to show a good performance in the semifinal," said Towhid.
In other matches at the BKSP, India (221) defeated Afghanistan (170) by 51 runs and Nepal (274-7) beat UAE (268-8) by 3 wickets.
SCORES IN BRIEF
HONG KONG: 91 all out in 46.5 overs (Kalhan 16, Kabir 16; Rishad 3-11)
BANGLADESH: 92-5 in 11.2 overs (Mahmudul 32 not out, Akbar 25; Nasrulla 4-39)
Result: Bangladesh Under-19s won by five wickets.
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