Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team suffered a narrow seven-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their third and final group-stage match of the ACC U-19 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Bangladesh have already secured their semi-final spot by beating Afghanistan and Nepal in the other Group B matches.
Chasing a target of 229, the junior Tigers were all out for 221 in 49.3 overs, despite a defiant 95 from Kalam Siddiki Aleen.
Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka struggled against Bangladesh bowlers led by Al Fahad (4-50) and Rizan Hossan (3-40), who consistently took wickets at regular intervals.
Vimath Dinsara top-scored with 106 off 132 balls laced with 10 boundaries; captain Vihas Thewmika (22) and Lakvin Abeysinghe (21) also played brief knocks to help Sri Lanka post 228.
In reply, Bangladesh got off to a solid start with openers Zawad Abrar (24) and Kalam making 52 runs for the first wicket.聽
Bangladesh lost two more wickets before reaching 100. Kalam then added another crucial 74 runs with Debasish Sarkar (31) but missed his ton by five runs; his innings comprised of eight boundaries and a six.
After reaching 172-4, Bangladesh slipped to 178-6 within just three overs. The situation worsened when they suffered another collapse on 206-7 to 210-9.
Farid Hasan played a 24-run knock but failed to ensure the win for the side as he got run out.
Thewmika (3-37) was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka.
