Bangladesh Under-19 managed to keep their hopes alive for a spot in the final of the tri-series, defeating Afghanistan by 51 runs in their third match of the group stage at Tolerance Oval Abu Dhabi.
Ariful Islam emerged as the hero of the match for Bangladesh with his all-round performance. In response to the target of 293 runs, Afghanistan got off to an aggressive start but were slowed down by the Bangladeshi bowlers.
Rafi Uz Zaman broke the opening partnership and Afghanistan lost wickets at regular intervals. Numan Shah played well with 93 runs off 109 balls but could not get support from his teammates.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 241 runs, with Bangladesh winning the match by 51 runs.
Earlier, after winning the toss and batting first, Bangladesh did not have a good start as they lost their two openers in the power play.
However, captain Ahrar Amin and Ariful steadied the innings with a partnership of 168 runs for the third wicket. Ahrar scored 87 runs off 100 balls while Ariful remained unbeaten on 105 off 128 balls, hitting nine fours and a six. Bangladesh posted a competitive total of 292 runs for six wickets.
Ariful was adjudged man of the match for his all-round performance, scoring a century and taking two wickets with the ball.
Among the Bangladeshi bowlers, Rafi, Sheikh Parvez, and Mahfuzur Rahman took two wickets each, while RohanatBarshan and JisanAlam took one wicket each.
With this victory, Bangladesh remained in the race for the final but will have to win big against Sri Lanka in their last match of the group stage.