Bangladesh seal comeback with series win

Bangladesh Under-19s beat Sri Lanka Under-19s by 14 runs in the fifth and final one-dayer on Sunday to seal a remarkable 3-2 series victory. Bangladesh U-19s were trailing 2-0 before winning the final three games of the series.

Nazmul Hossain Shanto continued his superb form with his fourth fifty on tour and held the Bangladesh innings together with an innings of 92 off 112 balls that included eight fours. He had already made scores of 70, 3, 69, 50 in the last four games, and ended up as the highest scorer in the ODI series with 284 runs.

Nazmul added 82 runs for the fourth wicket with Zakir Hasan, another impressive performer in this series. Zakir made 42 off 62 balls, with a four and a six, after scores of 62 and 50 in the last two games.

The visitors couldn't end the innings well, however, getting stuck at 212-9 in 50 overs. Pace bowlers Asitha Fernando and Malinga Amarasinghe took three wickets each.

The Sri Lankan openers Lasith Lakshan and Shalindu Ushan gave them the perfect start, adding 82 for the first wicket. But once the pair was separated and the middle-order slowed down, the Bangladesh spinners came into their own.

Legspinner Saleh Ahmed took three wickets while offspinners Mehedy Hasan and Sanjit Saha, and pace bowler Mohammad Saifuddin took two each.

The two teams will now play the first three-day Youth Test match from January 28 in Dambulla, followed by the second game in Pallekele from February 2.