BD romp past HK

Bangladesh got off to a flying start in the Max Emerging Teams Asia Cup yesterday, as they outclassed Hong Kong by eight wickets in their opening match at the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium in Cox's Bazar.

During the one-sided and short-lived affair, a heated exchange of words between home skipper Mominul Haque and Hong Kong bowler Ehsan Khan brought some excitement into a match that finished immediately after the lunch break. Apparently, Ehsan made a comment after dismissing Mominul, who in turn responded sharply.

Earlier in the encounter, Mominul along with another experienced campaigner Nasir Hossain had ripped through the Hong Kong batting order. Mominul picked up 3 wickets for 11 runs while Nasir claimed 3 for 18 runs to wrap up Hong Kong's innings for 125.

In the end however, it was Bangladesh Under-19 skipper Saif Hasan who clinched the player-of-the-match award as his unbeaten 57-run knock propelled his side to achieve the target in 16.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.

During his 47-ball innings, Saif struck nine fours and a six. “The pitch was a bit slow and it's not easy to score runs there,” Saif told reporters after the match.

“We had a good preparation for the tournament and played some practice matches that helped us to make a confident start. We are thinking match by match and that's why now we are only focusing on Nepal,” he continued.

Bangladesh started well in reply to Hong Kong's paltry target with Saif and Azmir Ahmed contributing 46 runs in the opening stand. Mominul Haque scored a quick-fire 21 runs from 14 balls while Nazmul Hossain was not out on 24.

Bangladesh will play their second match today against Nepal at the same venue.

Meanwhile, in the opening day's other matches, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan won their respective games in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar.