Bangladesh Under-19 finished their home series against Afghanistan Under-19 on a positive note, winning the final match by two wickets in Rajshahi on 9 November to level the series 2-2. Captain Azizul Hakim Tamim led from the front with a superb century to seal victory for the young Tigers.
Set a target of 209, Bangladesh reached the mark with 25 balls to spare. Earlier in the six-match series, the second game had been abandoned due to rain, leaving both teams with two wins each.
After a lean run with just 17 runs in his previous three innings, Azizul bounced back in style, scoring 100 off 118 balls with seven fours and three sixes, his second Youth ODI century.
Bangladesh’s chase began shakily at 41 for two, before Azizul steadied the innings with Rizan Hossain in a 44-run stand. Rizan made 27 off 34 balls. The skipper then added 54 runs with Farid Hasan Faisal (23) and another 46 with Shahriar Al Amin (17), keeping Bangladesh in control despite wickets falling at the other end.
Shadhin Islam hit the winning boundary and remained unbeaten on 4 off one ball as Bangladesh completed the chase comfortably.
Earlier, Afghanistan chose to bat first after winning the toss but were pegged back early when Khalid Ahmadzai was run out for a duck in the opening over. They suffered two more run outs later in the innings.
Usman Sadat top-scored with 68 off 106 balls, including seven fours, while Mahbub Khan (40) and Uzairullah Niazi (32) provided useful support. However, regular wickets prevented Afghanistan from posting a bigger total, as they were bowled out for 208.
Samiun Bashir was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers, taking 2 for 33 from 10 overs, while Sad Islam Rajin, Shahriar Al Amin and Shahriar Ahmed claimed one wicket apiece.
