LAHORE: A century from Azan Awais and an brilliant bowling performance by Mohammad Ismail helped Pakistan U-19 beat Bangladesh U-19 by 78 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Monday.
The win gives Pakistan U-19 a 2-0 lead in the five-match one-day series against Bangladesh U19.
Put into bat first, Pakistan U-19 were dismissed for 271. Azan, who returned undefeated on 69 in Pakistan U-19’s nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first one-day, scored 105 today. His innings included 15 fours which came off 125 deliveries.
After the departure of Shahzaib Khan, Azan was involved in a 57-run partnership with Shamyl Hussain (33 off 49) for the second wicket and later combined with captain Saad Baig (51 off 64) for the third wicket.
Saad’s dismissal with the score at 193 was followed by a batting wobble that saw the tourists lose six wickets for 42 runs, leaving them in a spot of bother at 235-9 in 46.5 overs. Amir Hassan was then joined by Aimal Khan and the pair knitted 36-run partnership for the 10th wicket. Amir scored 29 off 18 deliveries, which included two fours and as many sixes. Aimal struck two fours in a seven-ball 13.
For Bangladesh U-19, Iqbal Hossain Emmon was the most successful bowler, taking four wickets for 72 runs. Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby bagged three wickets for 52 from nine overs.
In turn, the visitors never allowed the hosts to score freely as the latter were bundled out for 193 in 47 overs. Only Shihab James (42 off 63) and Adil Bin Siddik (40 off 61) were the notable run-getters for the losing team.
For Pakistan U-19, right-arm fast bowler Ismail took three wickets for 46, while Ali Asfand, Arafat Minhas and Aimal Khan snapped two wickets each.
Scores in brief:
PAKISTAN U-19 271 in 50 overs (Azan Awais 105, Saad Baig 51, Shamyl Hussain 33, Amir Hassan 29; Iqbal Hossain Emmon 4-72, Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby 3-52); BANGLADESH U-19 193 in 47 overs (Shihab James 42, Adil Bin Siddik 40; Mohammad Ismail 3-46, Ali Asfand 2-18, Arafat Minhas 2-44, Aimal Khan 2-50).
Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2023
