All-round Nazmul guides Bangladesh home

Bangladesh Under-19 206 (Nazmul 45, Ghosh 42, Glover 3-47) beat South Africa Under-19 180 (Mulder 80, Saifuddin 2-7, Hossain 2-19) by 26 runs Scorecard

Bangladesh Under-19 beat South Africa Under-19 by 26 runs to take a 3-1 lead in the seven-match series. The home side banked on their captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto's all-round performance to go just one win away from clinching the series.

Batting first, Bangladesh made 206 in 50 overs with three batsmen getting out in the 40s. Openers Saif Hassan and Pinak Ghosh added 72 runs for the first wicket in 17.5 overs. Nazmul struck 45 off 62 balls with three fours but the rest of the line-up hardly made any notable contribution.

The South Africa bowlers triggered a collapse that saw the last five wickets fall for 25 runs in the final 6.5 overs. Pace bowler Brandon Glover took three wickets while offspinner Dean Foxcroft picked up two wickets.

When it was their turn to bat, the visitors once again had a poor start with opener Kyle Verreynne getting run out in the first over. It was Wiaan Mulder who held the innings together from that point, as he made 80 ff 135 balls with five fours and a six. He saw the middle and lower-order falter against Bangladesh's spin, and was the eighth man out in the penultimate over.

For Bangladesh, Mosabbek Hossain, Shanto and Mohammad Saifuddin took two wickets each while Nihaduzzaman and Sanjit Saha picked up one each.

The fifth ODI will be held in Chittagong on April 18.