DE Online Desk:
Bangladesh got off to a flying start in the Under-19 Asia Cup by beating Afghanistan by 45 runs in their first match of the tournament.
Afghanistan won the toss and put Bangladesh in to bat at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Bangladesh lost opener Jawad Abrar (0) early in the match. However, opener Kalam Siddiqui and captain Azizul Hakim, who came out for three, overcame the setback by putting on a 142-run stand for the second wicket and put Bangladesh on the path to a fighting score.
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Bangladesh finally got the upper hand due to the outstanding batting of these two youngsters. Azizul played a brilliant innings of 103 runs before being bowled by Nuristani Omarzai.
On the other hand, Kalam scored 66 runs before being bowled by Ghazanfar.
Although the other batsmen of the team could not do much, Bangladesh finally reached 228 runs for 9 wickets in 50 overs.
Abdul Aziz, Nuristani and Khatir Stanikzai took the highest two wickets each for Afghanistan.
Chasing 229 runs, Afghanistan did not get off to a bad start. They were in orbit with Faisal Khan Ahmedzai’s fifty (53) and Nasser Khan Marufkhil’s thirty-plus innings (34).
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But the Afghans lost their way as the team’s score crossed 150 runs. Their innings ended in the blink of an eye after losing the fifth wicket for 159 runs.
Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 183 runs with excellent bowling from Al Fahad and Iqbal Hossain Emon. Both bowlers took three wickets each.
Bangladesh’s next match in the U-19 Asia Cup is against Nepal on December 1.
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