Agency:
After a narrow loss to South Africa, the Bangladesh U-19 team bounced back in commanding fashion, thrashing hosts Zimbabwe by 8 wickets in the tri-nation U-19 series in Harare on Friday.
With this dominant win, Bangladesh U-19 secured their place in the final, set to be held on 10 August at the same venue. They reclaimed the top spot on the points table with 6 points from 4 matches, edging out South Africa U-19-who also have 6 points from as many games-on net run rate. Hosts Zimbabwe remain winless after four outings in the tournament.
Electing to field first after winning the toss at Harare Sports Club, Bangladesh’s bowlers wreaked havoc as Zimbabwe were bundled out for just 89 in 22.3 overs. The pace-spin duo of Iqbal Hossain Imon and Sanjid Mozumder led the charge, with Imon taking 4 wickets for 27 runs, and Sanjit claiming 2 for 26. Leg-spinner Shadhin Islam chipped in brilliantly with 2 wickets for just 1 run.
Only two Zimbabwean batters managed to reach double figures – Nathaniel Hlabangana (26) and Brandon Ndiweni (20) – as the hosts collapsed from 33/1 to 89 all out, losing their last 9 wickets for just 56 runs.
In reply, despite an early hiccup with opener Rifat Beg falling for a golden duck, and Kalam Siddiki scoring a brisk 20 off 16, Bangladesh chased down the target comfortably in just 15.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.
Captain Azizul Hakim Tamim led from the front with an unbeaten 47 off 49 balls, smashing 6 fours and a six. He was well supported by Rizan Hossan, who sealed the win with a boundary and remained not out on 21 off 26 deliveries.
Bangladesh still have two matches to play – against South Africa and Zimbabwe on 6 and 8 August respectively. The Junior Tigers will now look to carry this momentum into their remaining fixtures as they aim for the title in the tri-series.
