Agency :
Bangladesh climbed to the top spot of Group B in ACC U-19 Asia Cup 2021 as they thrashed Kuwait by 222 runs in their 2nd match.
Mahfijul Islam’s ton and Ripon Mondol’s effort with the ball guided Bangladesh U-19 to 222 runs triumph over Kuwait U-19 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Mahfijul scored 112 off 119 deliveries at a strike rate of 94.12 where he struck 12 fours and four sixes. 64 per cent of his runs came through boundaries where he played 67 dot balls.
Bangladesh were looking to post something beyond 300 at one point. They were 179 for three after 33 overs before they lost the wicket of wicketkeeper-batter Gazi Mohammad Tahjibul Islam. They added 107 runs in the last 16 overs losing the rest of their six wickets.
For Kuwait, Abdul Sadiq was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name. Muhammad Umar and Henry Thomas picked up a brace each but they both were pretty expensive.
Kuwait had a terrible start in their chase of 292 losing their first three wickets for only 7 runs in 6 overs. They kept losing wickets in regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 69 runs.
Meet Bhavsar, top-scored with 43 runs off 77 balls while Mirza Ahmed scored 11. They continued to lose wickets in quick succession and eventually skittled on 69 before in 25.3 overs, falling short of 222 runs.
Earlier, Bangladesh posted 291 runs in 49.2 overs after being invited to bat first. After the early dismissal of Iftakher Hossain (2), Mahfijul headed the team from the front and added 84 runs with Aich Mollah for the second wicket stand.
Meanwhile, Ariful Islam and Tahjibul Islam played brief innings of 23 and 25 runs respectively. Last match hero Pratik Nawrose Nabil, who hit a century against Nepal U-19 fell early on 5 runs being trapped in LBW.
Then, Meherob played a stormy innings of 42 off 24 struck 5 fours and a six and skipper Rakibul added crucial 21 runs in the end which propelled the side to set a target of 292 runs to chase.
Bangladesh play their next match on 28 December against Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
