When it comes to cricket, and the opponent is India, the occasion always feels bigger for any Bangladesh cricket team these days. If the match happens to be a final, the excitement reaches an entirely different level. In another such high-stakes encounter in Dubai today, the Bangladesh U-19 team defeated India to clinch the U-19 Asia Cup title once again.
After winning their maiden U-19 Asia Cup last year by defeating the UAE in the final by a massive 195-run margin, the young Tigers repeated their dominance this year, blowing past India to claim the Asian crown for the second time in a row. Led by Azizul Hakim, Bangladesh secured a convincing 59-run victory.
Winning the toss, India put Bangladesh into bat first. The young Tigers were bowled out for 198 in 49.1 overs. While it wasn’t a massive total, Bangladesh’s pace attack made it seem like a mountain for India. The Indian side was bundled out for just 139 runs in 35.2 overs. Notably, this was the first time India failed to lift the champion’s trophy in their nine U-19 Asia Cup final appearances.
The first breakthrough came in the second over when pacer Al Fahad bowled Ayush Mhatre. In the fifth over, left-arm pacer Maruf Mridha dismissed cricket’s young sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who had smashed 67 off 36 balls in the semifinal against Sri Lanka. This time, however, Suryavanshi managed only 9 runs off 7 balls before being caught by Shihab James, leaving India at 24 for 2.
Just 20 runs later, Rizan Hasan struck to dismiss Andre Siddharth (20), sparking further celebrations among the Bangladesh players. From there, Indian captain Mohammad Aman tried to rebuild the innings with Karthikeya KP, but the duo’s efforts were undone by pacer Iqbal Hossain Iman in the 21st over. Iman took two wickets in three balls, sending Karthikeya (21) and Nikhil Kumar (0) back to the pavilion with the help of wicketkeeper Farid Hasan.
Iman continued his fiery spell, dismissing Harbansh Panguliya shortly after. Then, Al Fahad returned to remove another Indian batter, reducing India to 92 for 7.
India’s skipper Aman was the lone fighter, but his resistance ended in the 32nd over when Bangladesh captain Azizul Hakim’s off-spin bowled him out. With the scoreboard reading 115 for 8, India could only manage to reduce the margin of defeat as Azizul cleaned up the remaining two wickets.
Summary:
Bangladesh U-19: 198 in 49.1 overs (Rizan 47, James 40, Farid 39; Yudhjit 2/29, Hardik 2/41, Chetan 2/48).
India U-19: 139 in 35.2 overs (Aman 26, Hardik 24, Karthikeya 21; Azizul 3/8, Iqbal 3/24, Al Fahad 2/34).
Result: Bangladesh U-19 won by 59 runs.
Player of the Match: Iqbal Hossain.
Player of the Tournament: Iqbal Hossain.
