Bangladesh 'A' defeat CCI XI by 71 runs

Having won the previous one-day match, Bangladesh A were in fine fettle in their match against the Cricket Club of India President's XI on Oct. 19. Winning the toss at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, Bangladesh A captain Khaled Mahmud opted to bat. His team was given a good start by young batsman Mohammad Ashraful, who had only recently hogged headlines by scoring a century on debut against Sri Lanka; here, he scored 62 off 76 balls, with nine fours.

It was the captain who provided him support at the other end; Mahmud also scored 62, but off only 60 balls. The visitors failed to extend their innings to the full 50 overs, though, getting bowled out in 42.1 after having made 228. CCI bowler Robin Morris starred in his side's bowling effort, returning figures of 6-0-39-3 - expensive but successful.

CCI XI never recovered from a disastrous start; the openers departed with only 22 on the board. Despite the best efforts of Jatin Paranjpe (23), Sairaj Bahutule (27) and Vinayak Samant (32), CCI collapsed in 39.5 overs, managing to score only 157. Bangladesh A thus registered its second successive victory against the CCI XI, winning by 71 runs.