Bangladesh too good for PCA XI

Aftab Ahmed and Shakib Al Hassan guided Bangladesh to an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Punjab Cricket Association President's XI in their Champions Trophy warm-up match in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Aftab, who was declared man-of-the-match, smashed 76 runs, inclusive of two sixes and eight boundaries, while Hassan, who scored 66, provided able support at the other end.

Chasing 206 for victory, Bangladesh scored 208 for 3 in 41 overs, with Hassan, who partnered skipper Habib-ul Basher after Aftab was trapped leg before by Bipul Sharma, completing the formalities.

The victory should Bangladesh's morale ahead of the first qualifying match against Sri Lanka, at Mohali, on October 7.

Earlier, electing to bat, PCA XI began on a disastrous note, losing five wickets for just 75. Uday Kaul (47) and pacer Amit Uniyal (34) provided some resistance down the order, but the hosts could never really recover from a top order collapse.

Skipper Pankaj Dharmani (6) was among the six batsmen who failed to reach double figures. The Punjab team, however, survived till the 50th over.

For Bangladesh, Sayed Rasel and Farhad Reza inflicted maximum damage, claiming three wickets each.

Abdul Razzak and M Rafique claimed two each.

Uniyal made early inroads by scalping openers Shariar Nafees (29) and Mohammad Ashraful (6) but Aftab Ahmed murdered the Punjab attack, hitting boundaries at will.

Brief scores:

PCA President's XI: 205 in 49.1 overs (Uday Kaul 47, Sunny Sohal 36, Amit Uniyal 34, Sumit Sharma 28; Farhad Reza 3-32, Syed Rasel 3-38, Abdur Razzak 2-27, Mohammad Rafique 2-38).

Bangladesh: 208-3 in 41 overs (Aftab Ahmed 76, Saqibul Hasan 66 not out, Shariyar Nafees 29).