Bangladesh in U-19 Asia Cup semi-final
Photo- ACC
|| Desk Report ||
Bangladesh U-19 team qualified for the semi-finals of the fifth ACC U-19 Asia Cup beating Hong Kong by five wickets in their last Group B match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Tuesday.
Bangladesh’s semi-final was not confirmed until Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 23 runs in the other Group B match at MA Aziz Stadium to eliminate the side from the tournament.
Bangladeshi bowlers put up a comprehensive show against Hong Kong as they bowled them out for 91 runs in 46.5 overs before they reached 92-5 in just 11.2 overs
Bangladesh, who became Group B runners-up, would face Group A champions India in the first semi-final at Sher-e Bangla National Stadium on Thursday while Sri Lanka would take on reigning champions Afghanistan in the other semi-final on Friday.
Hong Kong batters had no answer to Bangladeshi bowlers as they lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out under 100-run mark.
Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain continued his impressive performance in the tournament picking up 3-11 while Mrittunjoy Chowdhury and Rakibul Hasan shared two wickets each for junior Tigers.
However, Bangladesh struggled in the run-chase and lost four batsmen in space of 18 deliveries.
Hong Kong pacer Nasrulla Rana (4-39) made most of the damages in the Bangladesh innings, as he dismissed skipper Towhid Hridoy (five), Shamim Hossain (0) and Sajid Hossain (four) in the third over while trapped Tanzid Hasan (15) in front in his next over.
Akbar Ali and Mahmudul Hasan added 58 runs off 37 balls for the fifth wicket to take the hosts close to victory.
Akbar made 25 runs while Mahmudul remained unbeaten on 32 off 20 balls, ensuring Bangladesh’s spot in the last four with 232 balls to spare.
In the other match of Group B, Sri Lanka could only manage to score 200 runs in 49.4 overs after Pakistani seamer Arshad Iqbal finished with 6-34.
However, Sri Lankan bowlers made the total defendable as they restricted Pakistan to 177-8 in 50 overs, securing their third consecutive victory in the tournament.
In the other matches of Group A, India defeated Afghanistan by 51 runs at the BKSP-3 while Nepal secured a consolation three-wicket win over United Arab Emirates at the BKSP-4 ground.
