Saqibul Hasan blasts Bangladesh to victory

Bangladesh U-19 210 for 6 (43.5 overs, Saqibul Hasan 82, Mehrab Hossain jnr 62*) beat England U-19 208 (49.4 overs, Ali 70) by four wickets
Scorecard

A superb 62-ball 82 from 15-year-old Saqibul Hasan guided Bangladesh to a four-wicket win over England in the opening match of the tri-nation Under-19 tournament at Savar.

Hasan came in with Bangladesh struggling on 19 for 2 chasing a target of 209, but the next six overs produced 60 runs as he cut loose. Although Mehdi Hasan was then dismissed for 28, Hasan was joined by Mehrab Hossain jnr , and they added 85 for the fourth wicket at a little over four an over. By the time Hasan, who hit 13 fours and two sixes, fell in the 28th over, Bangladesh were almost home and dry. Although two wickets in successive balls by Moeen Ali caused a few jitters among the home crowd, Bangladesh eased home with more than six overs in hand.

England won the toss, but Varun Chopra, the captain, must have questioned the wisdom of his decision when he edged the first ball of the match to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim. The innings never really gathered any momentum against some good bowling, although Ali's 70 did ensure that they passed 200.

It was another setback for the England side who came into this tournament on the back of a whitewash in a five-match series against a BCB High Performance side.

The next fixture will be between England and Sri Lanka on Friday. Sri Lanka will be confident as they beat Bangladesh when the sides met in the Afro-Asia U-19 tournament in India earlier this month.