Young Tigers make it two wins out of two games in U-19 Asia Cup

Bangladesh climbed to the top spot of Group B in ACC U-19 Asia Cup 2021 as they thrashed Kuwait by a mammoth 222 runs in their second match thanks to opener Mahfijul Islam's brilliant 112 off 119 deliveries to take Tigers to the mountain of runs. 

Batting first, Bangladesh posted a huge total of 291 losing all their wickets in 49.2 overs. Mahfijul scored the second century in consecutive matches in the tournament for Bangladesh after Prantik Nawrose's elegant century against Nepal just a day earlier. 

Mahfijul scored 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. 

Bangladesh's innings, however, didn't start so brightly. They managed to score only three runs in the first three overs and lost the wicket of Iftakhar Hossain Ifti. Mafijul and Aich Mollah posted an 84-run partnership for the second wicket. Aich Mollah departed but Mahfijul kept on scoring. He posted another 53-run partnership with Ariful Islam for the third wicket.

Apart from Mahfijul, S M Meherob Hasan played a 42-run cameo innings from 24 balls to take Bangladesh to a commendable total. Skipper Rakibul Hasan also played a useful knock of 21 from 21 balls. 

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 mammoth 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. 

Opener Meet Bhavsar was the last man to be dismissed for 43 off 77 balls. Apart from him, only Mirza Ahmed reached the double-digit mark. 

For Bangladesh, Ripon Mondol picked up three wickets for only 10 runs from the eight overs he bowled. Skipper Rakibul Hasan and Meherob Hasan picked up a brace each. 

Bangladesh play their next match on 28 December against Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.