Joy smashes ton as Bangladesh A post 308 for seven

Mahmudul Hasan Joy smashed century as Bangladesh A posted 308 for seven against Afghanistan in their do-or-die encounter of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Tuesday.

Joy scored 100 off 114 deliveries, striking 12 fours and two sixes, while left-hander Zakir Hasan added 62 off 72 deliveries with the help of six fours and two sixes. Soumya Sarkar scored 48 off 42 while Sheikh Mahedi smashed a quick-fire 36 off just 19 balls with six fours and a six.

Naim Sheikh once again failed to make an impact after Bangladesh elected to bat. The left-hander departed after scoring 18 off 19 deliveries. Tanzid Hasan (9) and skipper Saif Hasan (4) also departed cheaply as Bangladesh were struggling on 34 for three inside six overs.

Joy and Zakir then held the ship and added 117 runs for the fourth-wicket stand. The late launch from Soumya and Mahedi where Bangladesh added 52 runs in the last five overs of the innings.

Right-arm pacer Mohammad Saleem remained the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan bagging four wickets.