Lincoln: Towhid Hridoy and Afif Hossain starred for the Bangladesh U-19 team as they beat their Canadian counterpart by 66 runs to notch up their second win of the tournament at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval on Monday.
Middle-order batsman Tawhid struck a majestic 122 of 126 balls which had now fours and one six to help his team post 264 for eight after which Afif’s all-round display helped them successfully defend the total in the end by 66 runs. In the previous edition of the tournament in 2016, they had finished third on home soil and in their first match of this World Cup, they had defeated Namibia by 87 runs on the opening day of the competition.
Having put to bat, Bangladesh lost two early wickets but it was Tawhid who stood out with his knock as he took the responsibility of taking his team to a respectable total. Not only did he keep Bangladesh in the contest with his hundred, but also put on a useful 62-run partnership with Mohammad Naim Sheikh (47) and a game-changing 111-run stand with star performer Hossain, who hit five fours and one six in his 50 runs which came of 59 balls.
For Canada, the best bowler was Faisal Jamkhandi who picked up five wickets. In reply, they were bowled for 198 runs. Skipper Arslan Khan’s 63 of 108 balls went in vain as they fell short by 66 runs.
Hossain, who had scored 50 runs followed it up with a five-wicket haul (5/43) as he was adjudged the man of the match for his all-round display.
In the other match of the day, the English U-19 side went past Namibia U-19 by eight wickets in Queenstown. Having decided to bat first, Namibia did little justice to that decision as they were restricted to 196 in their 50 overs.
Openers Jurgen Linde and skipper Lohan Louwrens added 42 runs but after that, it was a downslide for them as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. For them, the notable performers with the bat were Shaun Foche (44) and Nicole Loftie-Eaton (36) while Luke Hollman was the pick of the England bowlers with three wickets, conceding 41 runs.
England in reply, comfortably chased down the total in 24.1 overs with Will Jacks scoring 73 runs and skipper Harry Brooks with 59. Gerhard Lottering was the most successful bowler for Namibia as he dismissed both the openers- Savin Perera (26) and Tom Banton (21).
Brief scores–
Canada U-19 198 all out (Arslan 63, Pranav Sharma 34; Afif Hossain 5/43) lost to Bangladesh U-19 264/8 (Tawhid Hridoy 122, Afif Hossain 50; Faisal Jamkhandi 5/48) by 66 runs.
Queenstown: England U-19 198/2 (Will Jacks 73*, Harry Brook 59*; Gerhard Lottering 2/33) defeated Namibia U-19 196/9 (Shaun Foche 44, Nicole Loftie-Eaton 36; Luke Hollman 3/41) by 8 wickets.