Bangladesh A lose to academy team in Top End T20 Series

Bangladesh A's batting woes continued as they suffered a five-wicket defeat against Perth Scorchers Academy in the Top End T20 series in Darwin on Sunday.

Batting first, Bangladesh A delivered another lacklustre display, posting only 123 for nine -- their lowest total in the tournament so far. Afif Hossain top-scored with an unbeaten 49-ball 42, but his slow strike-rate of 85.71 left Bangladesh A short of momentum. Captain Nurul Hasan Sohan added 14 off 16 deliveries, while late cameos from tailenders Mrittunjoy Chowdhury (14 off eight) and Rakibul Hasan (16 off five) pushed the score beyond the 100-mark.

In reply, the academy side cruised to victory with two overs to spare. Joel Curtis anchored the chase with an unbeaten 34-ball 44 alongside Teague Wyllie's 28-ball 31, while Matthew Spoors chipped in with 24 off 16 deliveries to seal a comfortable win.

For Bangladesh A, spinners Rakibul and Nayeem Hasan picked up two wickets each, but the modest target proved too little to defend as Nurul's side slumped to their second loss of the campaign after going down by 79 runs against Pakistan Shaheen's in their opening fixture.

Bangladesh A will look to bounce back when they face NT Strike at the same venue on Tuesday.