Bangladesh clinch Youth ODI series against Sri Lanka

Tuesday, 27 January 2015 01:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Coming from behind, Bangladesh Under-19 Cricket team clinched the five-match Youth ODI series 3-2 beating hosts Sri Lanka Under-19 side by 14 runs in the 5th and final match on the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo on Sunday, reports UNB. The Young Tigers, who went down 0-2 after suffering two consecutive defeats in the first two matches, smartly clinched the five-match series after winning three successive matches against the islanders. Bangladesh bounced back in the series after beating Sri Lanka by 39 runs in the 3rd ODI on Thursday while they levelled the series 2-2 beating the home side by 60 runs in the 4th ODI on Saturday.

In the series-deciding match, Bangladesh batted first after winning the toss and scored 212 runs for 9 in allotted 50 overs featuring a polished 82 runs in the 4th wicket stand by team’s consistent performers Nazmul Hossain Shanta and Zakir Hasan. Number five batsman Zakir Hasan, who also guided Bangladesh towards victory in the last two matches making 62 and 50 runs respectively, added another useful 62-ball 42 runs with two fours and one six in the series-deciding match. Besides, Saif Hasan (17), Joyraj Sheikh (14), Shahanur Rahman (14) and Prosenjit Das (11) were the other notable scorers for Bangladesh reaching the double figure while another eleven runs of the innings came from extras. AMEM Amarasinghe and AM Fernando grabbed three wickets each conceding 20 and 50 runs respectively. Chasing a moderate target, Sri Lanka Youth team made a good start making 82 runs in 18.4 overs in the opening stand, but middle-order and lower-order collapse forced them to be bundled out for 198 runs in 48.5 overs. Opener MSU Pereira made a half century scoring 53 runs off 89 deliveries, including three fours, while other opener WWWL Lakshan contributed 60-ball 42 runs featuring four fours and one six. C Karunaratne (25), WIA Fernando 24), PVR De Silva (12) and AMEM Amarasinghe (10) were the other main contributors for Sri Lanka. Saleh Ahmed claimed three Lankan wickets for 48 runs while Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehedi Hasan and Sanjit Saha took one wicket apiece Touring Bangladesh Under-19 team will also play two three-day matches against their Sri Lankan counterparts, first on January 28-30 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium and the 2nd and last one on February 2-4 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. (Financial Express)