Bangladesh Under-19s produced a dominant display to thrash Zimbabwe by 160 runs in their final group-stage match of the tri-nation youth series, ahead of the final clash against South Africa.
With both Bangladesh and South Africa already through to the final, this match served as a fine-tuning opportunity for the young Tigers, one they seized in emphatic fashion, thanks to an all-round masterclass from captain Azizul Haque Tamim.
Having lost the toss and sent in to bat, Bangladesh posted an imposing 284 for 6. Opener Rifat Beg top-scored with a fluent 77, building a crucial 112-run stand with skipper Tamim, who added 34. Though the openers had a shaky startJawad Abrar falling early for Rifat and Tamim steadied the innings before the middle and lower order capitalised.
Rizan Hossain contributed 30, Mohammad Abdullah chipped in with 37, while Faisal Hasan remained unbeaten on 38 off 44 balls. The innings ended with a flourish as Debashish Sarkar blasted 34 not out from just 13 deliveries.
In response, Zimbabwe collapsed to 124 all out. Azizul continued his all-round heroics, claiming 3 wickets to go with his earlier runs. Rizan Hossain also picked up 3, and Shahriar Al Amin took 2 as Bangladesh’s bowlers made light work of the hosts.
Only three Zimbabwe batters reached double figuresBenny Juju top-scored with 47, Michael Blingaut added 30, and Marshall Mashava managed 10. Mashava also impressed with the ball, taking 3 wickets for Zimbabwe.