Young Tigers clinch thriller vs India U-19 A

Bangladesh Under-19 national cricket team beat India U-19 A team by two wickets in their first match of the triangular series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.

Batting first, India U-19 A put up 245 on board, courtesy of a hundred from Harnoor Singh. In reply, Mahfijul Islam’s knock of 91 runs set the tone for the youngsters, and S M Meherob Hasan took them over the line alongside skipper Rakibul Hasan.

Winning the toss, Rakibul opted to field first. India got a good start as their openers put together a 47-run stand before Mohammad Musfik Hasan struck to remove Angkrish Raghuvanshi (16).

Harnoor was India’s driving force as he scored 111, but once he got out in the 43rd over, the hosts stumbled. They lost their last seven wickets for just 35 runs and were bowled out for 245. S K Rasheed was India U-19 A side’s second-highest scorer as he notched up 30.

Tanzim Sakib was Bangladesh’s most successful bowler with three wickets, with Md Ashiqur Zaman, Musfik and Rakibul picking up a couple each.

In reply, Bangladesh were off to a solid start as Mahfijul and Iftakhar Hossain put together an 85-run opening stand. Mahfijul then put another 79-run partnership with Prantik Nawrose Nabil, and it looked like Bangladesh were on their way to a comfortable victory.

But the young Tigers lost five wickets for just 40 runs, swinging the game into balance once again.

But Meherob managed to hold his nerve as he knit together a 23-run partnership with Md Ashiqur Zaman to bring Bangladesh near the total. Ashiqur and Sakib went back in consecutive overs, but Meherob did not flinch.

He stayed unbeaten on 38 and ensured that Bangladesh got their first points in the tournament.

Bangladesh now have four points in the tournament and are on equal points with India U-19 B. India U-19 A lost both their matches and have no points.

Brief Score

India U-19 A: 245-10, 48.1 overs (Harnoor 111, Rasheed 30, Yadav 25, Sakib 3-50, Ashiqur 2-34, Rakibul 2-48)

Bangladesh U-19: 249-8, 48.2 overs (Mahfijul 91, Meherob 38*, Prantik 35, Hangargekar 3-47, Amrit 2-31, Rajangad 1-37)