Dubai: Sri Lanka thrashed Nepal while defending champions Bangladesh beat Afghanistan to kick off their respective ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2025 campaigns here on Saturday.
In the third match of the eight-team tournament, a combined bowling effort followed by Jawad Abrar’s half-century in a run chase led Bangladesh to a three-wicket victory over Afghanistan at the ICC Academy here.
Opting to bat first, Afghanistan amassed 283/7 thanks to a blistering century from top-order batsman Faisal Shinozada.
The right-handed batsman scored 103 runs off 94 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes for Afghanistan, overseeing their batting journey till the 33rd over after walking out to bat in the fifth over.
He shared a 93-run partnership for the third wicket with Usairullah Niazhai, who made a notable contribution with 44 off 55 balls.
Shahriar Ahmed and Iqbal Hossain Emon took 2 wickets each while Saad Islam, Samiun Basir and Rizan Hosan took one wicket each for Bangladesh.
In reply, Bangladesh chased down a target of 284 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.
The defending champions dominated the chase as the opening pair of Jawad and Rifad Beg put on a brisk 151 runs.
Jawad scored 96 off 112 balls with nine fours and 6 sixes while Rifaat scored 62 off 68 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes.
Captain Azizul Hakim scored 47 off 48 balls, while middle-order batsman Rizan Hosan batted smartly at the back to lead Bangladesh over the line with an unbeaten 17 off 13 balls.
For Afghanistan, Qadir Stanikzai and Ruhullah Arab took 2 wickets and Salam Khan took one wicket.
In another Group B match at the Sevens Stadium, Setmika Senaviratna’s five-wicket haul helped Nepal beat Nepal by eight wickets.
Batting first, Nepal’s batting line-up was decimated by Senaviratna and managed to manage just 82 runs in 28.5 overs.
Middle-order batsman Sibrin Shrestha top-scored with a cautious 18 off 43 balls, while openers Sahil Patel (12) and Niraj Kumar Yadav (12) were the other two to score double figures.
Senaviratne led the Sri Lankan bowling with a sensational 5/25 in 9.5 overs, while Rashid Nimsara, Vigneshwaran Akash, Dulnith Chikera and Samika Heenadikala chipped in with a scalp each.
Sri Lanka chased the simple target of winning by 83 runs by 8 wickets and 211 balls.
Right-handed opener Dimantha Mahavidhana scored an unbeaten 39 off 49 balls, while No. 4 Kavija Gamage scored an unbeaten 24 off 29 balls.
Dayanand Mandal took the lone wicket in Nepal’s worst defeat.
The impressive win put Bangladesh at the summit of the U19 Asia Cup 2025 Group B standings due to their superior net run rate, second place, Afghanistan third, while Nepal slipped to the bottom.
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