Haque helps Bangladesh U-19 draw level

A stellar effort from the bowlers, coupled with a breezy fifty from wicketkeeper Anamul Haque helped Bangladesh Under-19 draw level in the youth ODI series against Sri Lanka Under-19 at the Shamsul Huda Stadium.

Sri Lanka were off on the wrong foot after Dinesh Chandimal chose to bat first, with the captain himself falling in the first over. A 50-run stand between Udara Jayasundera and Banuka Rajapaksha propped up Sri Lanka before Bangladesh captain Mahmudul Hasan took two quick wickets.

Another fruitful partnership followed, between Jayasundera and Angelo Perera. The two added 67 before Perera became Sabbir Rahman's first victim, stumped after a gritty 36. Jayasundera fell one short of his fifty - his dogged effort coming off 105 balls and including just two fours. The slow pace took its toll on Sri Lanka when Sabbir quickly wrapped up the tail to restrict the visitors to 205 in the 47th over.

Amit Majumder and Haque combined well to help Bangladesh recover from an early double-jolt during the chase. The two added 83 for the third wicket. When Majumder departed, caught behind off Imesh Udayanga, Haque continued undeterred. He strung together a 47-run stand with Mahmudul before retiring hurt. He hit six fours and three sixes and set the hosts on course.

It was left to Sabbir (36) and Noor Hossain (23) to steer Bangladesh home with an unbeaten sixth-wicket stand of 40.