Young Tigers canter to easy win in opener
Bangladesh Under-19s continued their recent good form with a convincing six-wicket victory against their New Zealand counterparts in the first Youth ODI of a five-match series at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, New Zealand yesterday.
Akbar Ali led from the front with an unbeaten 65 after left-arm pacers Shoriful Islam and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury set the platform by scalping three wickets each to help dismiss the home team for 176 runs in 48 overs. Akbar's 61-ball 65, which contained 11 boundaries, helped the visitors chase down the target with 68 balls to spare.
It was a perfect start for the Young Tigers, who left the country with the aim of winning the series by a 5-0 margin and also to play some aggressive cricket, which the team management believed is an area they should improve in before the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in January 2020.
Smarting from a disappointing defeat in the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka earlier this month, Bangladesh Under-19s rode on a spirited team effort to win their first game in New Zealand.
Shoriful conceded 44 in nine overs while Mrittunjoy gave away only 21 runs in his nine. Off-spinner Shamim Hossain took two wickets, while medium-pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan chipped in with a wicket apiece.
While there were quite a few middling scores in the New Zealand innings, none of their batsmen managed to score more than wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Pomare's 40.
During the chase, besides Akbar, Shahadat Hossain was not out on 24 while Tanzid Hasan (28), Mahmudul Hasan Joy (28) and Towhid Hridoy (26) also made decent contributions.
The two sides will play the second match at the same venue on October 2.
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