All-round Mehedi Hasan sees off South Africa

Bangladesh Under-19s captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz backed up his 50-ball 57 with bowling returns of 3 for 33 to propel his side to a 29-run win over South Africa Under-19s in the second Youth ODI at Kingsmead in Durban.

After being inserted by the hosts in a rain-curtailed match, Bangladesh could manage just 18 runs for the opening stand before right-arm seamer Brandon Glover claimed Pinak Gosh for 9. Glover was drafted in as a replacement for the side's captain Tony de Zorzi, who was ruled out after failing a fitness test before the game. The visitors were reduced to 49 for 3 by the 14th over after which a 32-run fourth-wicket stand between Saif Hassan and Mehedi took them past 80.

However, it was the attacking 80-run fifth-wicket partnership between Mehedi and Zakir Hasan that eventually helped Bangladesh finish on 157 for 5 in 30 overs. Miraz, who had reached his fifty off 46 deliveries, was dismissed in the 29th over but Zakir struck a couple of fours in the closing overs to take the side past 150.

Rifat Pradhan and Saleh Ahmed had the home team on 22 for 3 inside eight overs. Bangladesh struck regular blows never allowing South Africa into the game, and the home team was soon reeling at 73 for 7 in the 22nd over. A 46-run eighth-wicket stand between Aaqil Ebrahim and Sean Whitehead took South Africa to 119 before Ebrahim was dismissed by Mehedi Hasan for 39.

Offspinner Mosabbek Hossain ended with figures of 3 for 19 as the hosts finished on 128 for 9. The win gave Bangladesh a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series.

Expressing concerns about the team's batting captain Kyle Verreynne said, "It was a tough loss, I think we started out well with the bowling but let it slip in the end, giving them more than what we were hoping for.

"Chasing 157, we always thought we were in with a shout, but unfortunately we started off slowly with the bat and that put us on the back foot. We were still in with a chance with Aaqil (Ebrahim) hitting the ball nicely, but we didn't have enough batsmen to help him go all the way." he added.