Won't be surprised if we beat South Africa U19 4-1: Hannan Sarkar

Bangladesh Under-19 team selector Hannan Sarkar is confident Bangladesh will continue to do well against the visiting South Africa Under-19 team in the five-match Youth ODI series which is tied 1-1 after two games.

Following Bangladesh's 14-run win in the second Youth ODI the former national team opener expressed his delight with the team's performance at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna.

"It was very important to win this match after losing the first ODI as it helps the team's confidence and thankfully we have done that. We still have three matches to go so the win puts us in good stead here," Hannan said. 

"We had lost the previous series against the Pakistan U19 team but over there, we were able to identify a few players who could do well for the team and that helped us get a better idea of how to build the squad," he added. 

Rain curtailed the first Youth ODI but that was also a closely contested affair as Bangladesh U19 lost narrowly.

But what has pleased Hannan is that both teams are fighting to their fullest to win each match: "If you notice both games were very tight and could have gone either way. No team was losing by a big margin and it was a team effort that won us the second match."

Hannan reserved special praise for Shihab James as he has been performing regularly with the bat and marked him as a key player. 

Asked about the series moving forward in home conditions, Hannan felt the momentum would carry on with Bangladesh and they could win the series.

"I won't be surprised if we win this series 3-2 or even 4-1 the way things. We have had experience of setbacks in the first match but the way we came back was also impressive and something that I expected so let's hop for the best." 

Bangladesh play their third Youth ODI against South Africa U19 on Tuesday at Khulna with the match starting from 9:00 am.