The batters could not capitalise on the good job done by the bowlers as India suffered a massive 59-run defeat to Bangladesh in the low-scoring U19 Asia Cup title clash in Dubai on Sunday. After India produced a fine performance with the ball to keep Bangladesh to a mere 198 in 49.1 overs, it looked like the job was half done since the batters had played their roles to perfection since defeat in the tournament-opener to Pakistan. However, in the crunch final, India lost wickets in a flurry on two occasions which broke the back of their chase, with Bangladesh bowlers and fielders doing their part well in exerting further pressure.

Chasing 199, India were bundled out for 139 in 35.2 overs as none of their specialist batters could play an impact knock, including the youngest IPL star Vaibhav Suryavanshi who managed a mere 9 (7 balls, 2 fours).

India suffered early blows in form of Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre (1) to stumble to 24 for two inside five overs.

With the summit clash placed precariously, Bangladesh edged ahead by keeping the rest of the Indian batters largely quiet, drying up the boundaries and even the singles.

C Andre Siddarth’s (20 off 35 balls) charge was ended by Rizan Hossan in the 12th over, which was another crucial point in the game as the balance tilted heavily in favour of Bangladesh.

But it was Iqbal Hossain Emon who made the most of the situation as he snaffled three vital wickets to severely dent India’s hopes, accounting for KP Karthikeya (21), Nikhil Kumar (0) and Harvansh Pangalia (6) in quick succession.

Mohamed Amaan resisted for long, scoring a 65-ball 26 but his effort and Hardik Raj’s late 21-ball 24 also was not enough for India to turn the tables. The end came swiftly for India as Azizul Hakim took 3/8 from his 2.2 overs towards the end.

Earlier in the first half, Rizan Hossain’s 47, Mohammad Shihab James’ 40 and Farid Hasan’s 39 proved to be the difference in a contest wherein batters mostly struggled for fluency in the middle.

India dominated the Bangladeshi batters for the entirety of the first half as they could only get near the 200-run mark while consuming most of their allotted overs.

Yudhajit Guha (2/29) was the pick among the performers from India as Chetan Sharma (2/48) and Raj (2/41) also chipped in with a couple of wickets each.

Kiran Chormale returned a measly 7-0-19-1 while Karthikeya (1/37) and Mhatre (1/9) also chipped in with a wicket each.

Indian cricket team during U19 Asia Cup 2024.© X/@ACCMedia1