Bangladesh clinches U19 Asia Cup title as Indian batting crumbles in final chase
In the tense final, India lost wickets in quick succession on two occasions, which severely undermined their chase. Bangladesh’s bowlers and fielders exerted constant pressure, contributing to India's downfall.
In the tense final, India lost wickets in quick succession on two occasions, which severely undermined their chase. Bangladesh’s bowlers and fielders exerted constant pressure, contributing to India's downfall.
In the tense final, India lost wickets in quick succession on two occasions, which severely undermined their chase. Bangladesh’s bowlers and fielders exerted constant pressure, contributing to India's downfall.
Dubai: India’s batters failed to capitalise on a strong bowling performance as they suffered a heavy 59-run defeat to Bangladesh in the low-scoring U19 Asia Cup final on Sunday.
After India’s bowlers restricted Bangladesh to just 198 in 49.1 overs, it seemed like the job was half done, especially as the Indian batters had been in fine form since their opening loss to Pakistan in the tournament. However, in the tense final, India lost wickets in quick succession on two occasions, which severely undermined their chase. Bangladesh’s bowlers and fielders exerted constant pressure, contributing to India's downfall.
Chasing 199, India was bowled out for 139 in 35.2 overs, with none of their specialist batters managing to make a significant contribution. Even the youngest IPL star, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, was dismissed for just 9 runs off 7 balls (2 fours).
India suffered early setbacks with the dismissals of Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre (1), leaving them at 24 for 2 inside five overs. With the final hanging in the balance, Bangladesh gained the upper hand by keeping the remaining Indian batters quiet, limiting boundaries and even singles, PTI reported.
C Andre Siddarth (20 off 35 balls) was dismissed by Rizan Hossan in the 12th over, marking a turning point in the match as Bangladesh tightened their grip on proceedings.
Iqbal Hossain Emon then made the most of the situation, taking three crucial wickets to further damage India's hopes. He dismissed KP Karthikeya (21), Nikhil Kumar (0), and Harvansh Pangalia (6) in quick succession.
Mohamed Amaan fought hard, scoring 26 from 65 balls, but his efforts, along with Hardik Raj’s late 24 from 21 balls, were not enough to turn the game around. India’s collapse was completed swiftly as Azizul Hakim claimed 3/8 from 2.2 overs at the end.
Earlier, in the first innings, Rizan Hossain’s 47, Mohammad Shihab James’ 40, and Farid Hasan’s 39 were key contributions that helped Bangladesh reach a modest total despite struggling with fluency throughout their innings.
India’s bowlers dominated the Bangladeshi batters, limiting them to just under 200 while using up most of their allotted overs.
Yudhajit Guha (2/29) was the standout performer for India, while Chetan Sharma (2/48) and Raj (2/41) also took two wickets each. Kiran Chormale returned a tidy 7-0-19-1, while Karthikeya (1/37) and Mhatre (1/9) claimed one wicket each.