The Bangladesh Under-19s held off the Afghanistan Under-19s to win by 16 runs in Abu Dhabi on Sunday and take control of their group at the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Asia Cup.
Bangladesh appeared to be cruising to victory after Afghanistan stumbled to 67-6 near the halfway stage as they chased a target of 170. However, Nasir Ahmedzai dragged his side back into contention, scoring 53 off 88 balls to leave Afghanistan 21 runs to get from the last three overs with two wickets in hand.
However, he was run out in the penultimate over to end the match as Afghanistan were dismissed for 153.
Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and bundled the Junior Tigers out for 169 in 45.1 overs.
Middle-order batsman Nazmul Hossain Shanto scored 58 from 86 balls and gave Bangladesh a total they could defend before falling to Sayed Shirzad to end the innings.
Abdullah Adil finished with figures of 3-26 in seven overs, while Shirzad’s final
overs.
Bangladesh moved to the top of Group B with four points, ahead of Tuesday’s opponents Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, who both are on two. Minnows Malaysia have yet to earn a point.
-With New Age input
