Bangladesh ‘A’ thrash Oman ‘A’ in Emerging Asia Cup

Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Mohammad Naim formed a century partnership after the bowlers skittled out Oman ‘A’ for just 126 as Bangladesh ‘A’ won their Group A match of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup by eight wickets at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Saturday.

Tanzid smashed 68 off 49 balls while Naim remained unbeaten on 47 as Bangladesh ‘A’ reached 130-2 in 16.3 overs.

Earlier, Tanzim Hasan Sakib claimed four wickets, three of which came in the final over in space of five deliveries, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Rakibul Hasan two wickets each as the ‘A’ team bundled out Oman ‘A’ in 46 overs.

Saif Hassan’s team needed a dominant victory after losing their first Group A match to Sri Lanka A by 48 runs to improve their net run-rate.

Tanzid, who had smashed 51 off 28 balls against Sri Lanka in the previous game, was in the mood to do exactly that right from the start.

Naim, who was sent to Sri Lanka after failing to impress in the final two ODIs for Bangladesh against Afghanistan, started cautiously but picked up the scoring rate later in the innings.

The opening stand of Tanzid and Naim took Bangladesh ‘A’ to 86 in the first 10 overs. Bangladesh looked set to win the match with 10 wickets in hand before Tanzid, who hit 11 fours and two sixes in an entertaining innings, departed by giving a catch at the boundary in the 15th over off Aqib Ilyas, ending the partnership on 109.

Captain Saif departed just one ball later for a duck, which brought Zakir Hassan to the middle, who remained unbeaten on 11 alongside Naim to finish the chase with 201 balls to spare.

Earlier, Oman lost early wickets before Shubo Paul and Shoaib Khan formed a 45-run fifth wicket partnership to steady the innings.

But once Joy dismissed Shoaib for 23 to break the stand, Oman ‘A’ innings lost its way, losing their remaining five wickets for just 27 runs.

Pacer Tanzim was named the player of the match for his four-wicket haul.

Bangladesh A’s next match will be against Afghanistan A on 18 July in Colombo.