Bangladesh Under-19 continued their impressive form in Youth ODIs with a series-winning victory over South Africa U19 on Saturday (July 19).
In the second U19 ODI, Bangladesh made 265-6 batting first. Zawad Abrar, Player of the Match in the visitors' 130-run win in the opener for his 70, continued his good run of form. On Saturday, he hit six sixes and one four in his 53-ball 57. Their top scorer, however, was captain Azizul Hakim, who made a patient 67 off 90. No.4 Rizan Hossan (52) also contributed, taking Bangladesh to 265-6.
Once again, South Africa's batting faltered, with only captain Jason Rowles (51) making a notable contribution as they were bowled out for 161 in 30.2 overs, mirroring their struggles in the series opener where Muhammed Bulbulia’s 72 accounted for nearly half their 155 runs.
Bangladesh’s bowlers shared the spoils: captain Hakim (2-35), Shadhin Islam (2-9), and Al Fahad (2-29) each took two wickets, while Iqbal Hossain Emon (1-25), Sanjid Mozumder (1-38) and Samium Basir (1-18) chipped in with one apiece.
2nd Youth ODI, South Africa Under-19 vs Bangladesh Under-19
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Bangladesh continue their U19 dominance
Bangladesh have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, securing their third consecutive bilateral Youth ODI series victory after their 3-2 away win against Sri Lanka U19 in April-May, and 3-2 home victory against South Africa U19 back in 2023.
In between, Bangladesh have won two U19 Asia Cups - in 2023/24 and 2024/25. At the 2024 U19 World Cup, they narrowly missed out on semi-final qualification, having won two out of three matches at the Super Sixes stage.
Since the start of 2024, Bangladesh have won 11 of the 17 Youth ODIs they have played with a win/loss ratio of 2.2 - second-best on both counts for any team that has played more than five matches in this period, after India U19.
Abrar continues to dominate with the bat for Bangladesh, leading the run charts in the South Africa series following his 302 runs at an average of 60.40 and a strike rate of 103.42 against Sri Lanka. Captain Hakim has been equally impressive as an all-rounder, building on his Sri Lanka series contributions of 281 runs at 70.25 (strike rate 79.37) and 5 wickets at 16.20 apiece (economy 3.37) with another strong showing against South Africa.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
