India Crowned Champions of the Inaugural Women’s U-19 Asia Cup by Beating Bangladesh
Bangladesh failed to put up a fight in the final of the Women’s U-19 Asia Cup, succumbing to poor batting and once again falling to India.
India clinched the title with a 41-run victory over Bangladesh in the final, played in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. Chasing a modest target of 118, Bangladesh were bowled out for just 76 runs with nine balls to spare.
Throughout the group stages and the Super Four, Bangladesh had lost only one match—against India. Unfortunately, their title hopes were dashed by the same opponents.
The star of the final was India’s opener Gongadi Trisha, who played a vital knock of 52 runs, the only batter to cross 30 in the match. Her innings earned her the Player of the Match award.
India’s bowlers had been exceptional throughout the tournament, not allowing any team to score more than 100 runs in their previous four games. For Bangladesh, the task was always going to be difficult, and they failed to put up even a minimal fight under the leadership of Sumaiya Akter.
From the start, wickets fell at regular intervals for Bangladesh. The highest partnership of the innings came for the third wicket when Juyaria Ferdous and Fahmida Chhoa added 20 runs. Juyaria was the top scorer for Bangladesh with 22 runs, while Fahmida contributed 18. No other batter reached double digits.
For India, Ayushi Shukla starred with the ball, claiming 3 wickets for 17 runs. She finished the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets.
Earlier in the match, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field. Farzana Yasmin struck early for Bangladesh, taking two wickets in the fifth over. However, India’s third-wicket partnership between Trisha and Niki Prasad added 41 runs, the highest of the match, before Habiba Islam broke the stand.
Farzana continued her excellent performance by dismissing Trisha, who scored 52 runs off 47 balls, including 5 fours and 2 sixes. Late contributions from Mithila Vinod and Ayushi Shukla helped India post a total of 117/7 in their 20 overs.
Farzana was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh, claiming 4 wickets for 31 runs, while Nishitha grabbed 2 wickets.
Brief Scores
India U-19: 117/7 in 20 overs (Trisha 52, Prasad 12, Vinod 17; Farzana 4-0-31-4, Nishitha 4-0-23-2)
Bangladesh U-19: 76 in 18.3 overs (Juyaria 22, Fahmida 18; Shukla 3.3-0-17-3, Yadav 4-0-13-2)
Result: India won by 41 runs
Player of the Match: Gongadi Trisha
