Yorkshire 198 (Plunkett 47*, Sunny 3-25) beat Bangladesh A 191 (Anamul 69, Rafiq 5-30) by 7 runsOffspinner Azeem Rafiq’s five-wicket haul snared a seven-run win for Yorkshire over Bangladesh A at Leeds. It was the visitors’ second close defeat in as many one-day games on this tour to England, after losing to Hampshire by eight runs on Tuesday.
Rafiq was brought on as fourth-change bowler, and he picked up Mominul Haque in his third over, breaking a promising 74-run third wicket stand with opener Anamul Haque. After a tight fourth over, he removed Anamul, who had top-scored with 69, striking six fours and a six in his 92-ball knock, and as soon as he and Mominul went, the the batting line-up caved in.
Rafiq’s incisive spell also accounted for allrounders Farhad Reza, Sohag Gazi and Elias Sunny. Raqibul Hasan and Robiul Islam put up some resistance but they were finally bowled out for 191 in the 45th over. Iain Wardlaw took two wickets while Liam Plunkett and Ryan Gibson claimed one each.
Earlier, Yorkshire were bowled out for 198 runs in the 48th over with the Bangladeshi spinners outdoing the seamers by one wicket. Sunny was the pick of the lot, taking 3 for 25 while Mominul and Robiul took two wickets each.
The home side recovered from the early loss of their openers through an 88-run partnership between Adam Lyth and Alex Lees but suffered a middle-order collapse – six wickets for 49 runs – and slipped to 148 for 8 in the 39th over. Plunkett, coming in at No 9, made 47 off 57 balls to ensure a moderate score.
Bangladesh A’s next match on tour is against Lancashire on August 11. – ESPNcricinfo
