Bangladesh continued their winning spree and sealed the semi-final berth as they beat Nepal in the U-19 Asia Cup by six wickets in Colombo, Sri Lanka Sunday.
Captain Akbar Ali led from the front in the crucial win as he remained not out on 98 to help his side reach 262/4 after the bowlers restricted the opponent for 261/8 at P Sara Oval ground.
Akbar, who faced 82 balls for his swashbuckling innings, needed three runs to reach his ton when the score was tied in the final ball of the 49th over.
But player of the match Akbar could fetch just a single and albeit missed out on a deserved three-figure score.
The not out batsman in the other end, Shamim Hossain also deserve plaudits as he remained unbeaten on 42 and their unbroken stand of 130 ensured the boys in red and green overcame a bit of a tricky situation of 132/4, when they lost half-centurion Towhid Hridoy.
@BCBtigers U-19 began their U-19 Asia Cup campaign with a convincing six-wicket victory against their @EmiratesCricket counterparts in Katunayake, Sri Lanka Friday.https://t.co/vO5v033FuO#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #UAE #UAECRICKET #ACC
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 6, 2019
Bangladesh lost both their openers before posting 20 on the board and Hridoy, who made 60, added 79 with Mahmudul Hasan Joy (40) for the third wicket and 34 with Akbar to keep the chase on.
Earlier in the day, after winning the toss Bangladesh bowlers started to pick up wickets in regular intervals but Nepal opener Pawan Sarraf stayed strong at one end to maintain the run wheel.
The opener was dismissed for 81, leaving the side on 173/5 in the 41st over but the middle-order batsman Sandeep Jhora scored a rapid-fire 56 off 37 balls to take the total past the 250-run mark.
Bangladesh, who beat the UAE in their first match, will face host Sri Lanka in their last group match Tuesday and the outcome of that match between these two unbeaten sides will decide the champion of Group B.
BRIEF SCORE
BANGLADESH U19 262/4 in 49.2 overs (Akbar 98*, Towhid 60) beat NEPAL U19 261/8 (Sarraf 81, Jhora 56) by six wickets
