Bangladesh U-19 Tigers Beat Afghanistan in Rain-Affected Match for a Dream Start
Sports Desk
Published: 14 December 2025, 11:10 am
Bangladesh’s Under-19 team showed resilience and aggression in chasing a challenging target, securing a memorable start in the Junior Asia Cup. Despite missing out on a century by Jawad Abrar, the junior Tigers defeated Afghanistan U-19 by 3 wickets in their opening match on Saturday in Dubai, thanks to solid batting performances from Jawad and Rifat Beg.
After batting first, Afghanistan piled up a massive 283 for 7, highlighted by Faisal’s century. Opener Usman Sadan scored 34, while Faisal played a brilliant 103 off 94 balls, hitting eight fours and four sixes. Middle-order contributions came from Uzairullah Niazai (44 off 55 balls) and Azizullah Miyakhil (38 off 36 balls). Abdul Aziz added 26 runs off 16 balls toward the slog overs. Seven Afghan bowlers were used, but Bangladesh struggled to gain significant breakthroughs. Pacer Iqbal Hossain Imon took 2 wickets for 63 in 10 overs, and Shahriar Ahmed claimed 2 for 43 in 8 overs. Saad Islam, Samiul Bashir, and Rizwan Hossain took a wicket each.
In the run chase, openers Jawad Abrar and Rifat Beg set the tone by attacking the Afghan bowlers from the start. Their opening partnership yielded 151 runs. Rifat Beg scored a quick 62 off 68 balls before being dismissed. Jawad Abrar carried on, but was unfortunately dismissed for 96 (112 balls, 9 fours, 6 sixes), just 4 runs short of a century at team score 170.
Captain Azizul Hakim Tamim and Kalam Siddiqui then steadied the innings, adding 66 runs for the third wicket. Kalam fell for 29, and the captain’s innings ended at 47 off 48 balls, 3 runs short of a fifty. Despite losing a few quick wickets toward the end, Sheikh Parvez contributed 13 crucial runs, and Shahriar Ahmed’s winning strike sealed a thrilling 3-wicket victory for Bangladesh.
The win gives the junior Tigers a flying start in the tournament and boosts their confidence ahead of the next matches.
Sports
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