Bangladesh U19 captain Azizul Hakim narrowly missed out on a well-deserved century in the final match of the youth ODI series against Sri Lanka. Despite a steady and responsible innings that held the team together, he was dismissed just 6 runs short of his ton. Moments after his departure, persistent rain forced the match to be abandoned.
On Thursday in Colombo, the sixth and final game of the series was cut short due to weather interruptions. However, having already secured three wins in the first five matches, Bangladesh U19 clinched the series 3-2 and will return home with the trophy.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Bangladesh found themselves in early trouble when opener Zawad Abrar was dismissed for a duck in just the second over. It was his second consecutive early dismissal, but unlike the previous match, captain Azizul held firm and ensured there was no collapse this time.
He led a recovery alongside Kalam Siddiki, adding 65 runs for the second wicket. Kalam, who started well, couldn’t convert his innings into a big score and departed for 31 off 45 balls, hitting 5 boundaries.
Azizul then built a solid 108-run partnership with Rizan Hossan. The left-handed skipper reached his fifty with 3 fours and a six off 62 balls and kept pushing on in pursuit of a century. He looked set to become only the second Bangladesh U19 captain to score multiple hundreds in youth ODIs—after Anamul Haque, who achieved the feat in 2012—but fell agonizingly close on 94 off 111 balls (7 fours, 2 sixes), caught off Kugathas Mathulan.
Only 17 more deliveries were bowled before rain interrupted play, and the match was officially called off. Rizan Hossan remained unbeaten on 48 from 64 balls (2 fours, 1 six), while Md Abdullah was not out on 5.
In terms of the series, Azizul finished with 281 runs at an impressive average of 70.25, including two unbeaten 60+ scores. However, it was Zawad Abrar who topped the charts with 302 runs at 60.40, thanks to two centuries in the first four matches, despite poor outings in the last two games.
Final Score Summary
Bangladesh U19 – 188/3 in 39.1 overs
- Zawad Abrar 0 (7), Kalam Siddiki 31 (45), Azizul Hakim 94 (111), Rizan Hossan 48* (64), Md Abdullah 5* (9)
- Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Zawad), 2-66 (Kalam), 3-174 (Azizul)
- Bowling: Navodya 10-1-36-1, Mathulan 7-0-31-1, Ravihansa 7.1-0-32-1
Result: Match abandoned due to rain
Series: Bangladesh U19 win 3-2
