Afia Prottasha and Shorna Akter struck a stormy fifty each that aided the Bangladesh U-19 women’s team to secure Super Six qualification as they registered a 10-run win against Sri Lanka in their second Group A tie in the ICC U-19 Women’s World Cup at the Willowmoore Park in Benoni, on Monday.
Afia hit a 43-ball 53 while her partner Shorna stood on a whirlwind 50 off 28 balls to manage an inspiring 165-2 in the stipulated overs.
After the young Tigresses appeared with tight bowling spells, their Sri Lankan counterpart was restricted to 155-4.
Marufa Akter was the pick among the Bangladeshi bowlers, picking up 2-19 while Disha Biswas took one wicket.
For Sri Lanka, Vishmi Gunaratne, who remained unbeaten on 60 off 54, scored the highest, while Vewmi Vihanga finished with a 44-ball 55.
Sent to bat, Bangladesh made a decent start as their opening pair Afia and Misty Shaha went unscratched until 75.
However, the duo were forced to stop in 11.1 overs, with she bagging her maiden fifty in the marquee competition after the former fell to Rashmi Nethranjali.
In the process, Afia pummeled five fours and three maximums.
Misty was run-out for 14 just after two balls of the over, leaving the junior Tigresses at 79-2 and putting pressure on the side.
However, that was the end of the woes for the buoyant side, as in the next stand, Shorna and Dilara Akter shared a pivotal 86-run stand to amass a challenging target.
Pursuing a formidable 166, Sri Lanka made a shaky start as they lost their opening stand inside the fourth over for 24, with Marufa and Disha dismissing Nethmi Senarathna and Sumudu Nisansal for a duck and 3, respectively, that initially pushed them on the back foot.
However, in the second wicket, Vishmi and Dewmi shared a crucial 96-run partnership to limit the early devastation and keep the side in the game.
Marufa, on the other hand, struck for the second time in 16.2 overs to dismiss the latter, leaving the side at 120-3 and fighting back the young Tigress in the match.
It was strengthened further when skipper Disha trapped Manudi Nanayakara run-out for 4.
However, Vishmi and her partner Dulanga Dissanayake went undisputed until the final ball of the tie, but it just lessened the run difference, and that’s all.
