U-9 Asia Cup: India beat Bangladesh by two runs to enter final

Mohit Jangra and Siddharth Desai took claimed wickets each as India edged out Bangladesh by 2 runs to enter the final of the U-19 Asia Cup here on Thursday.

It was a fine display by the bowlers, who rose to the occasion to deliver the goods and carry India to the final. Jangra was the most successful bowler giving away just 25 runs in his nine overs for three wickets as India bundled Bangladesh for 170 in 46.2 overs, only two shy of India’s total.

Desai was also fairly successful with a bowling figure that read 10 overs, one maiden, 35 runs, and three wickets. Harsh Tyagi took two wickets, while Ajay Gangapuram chipped in with one wicket to bring up the victory.

Opting to bat first, India were off to a worst possible start as previous match’s centurion Devdutt Padikkal returned to the pavilion for just three runs. Skipper Anuj Rawat (35) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37) and added 66-run partnership but their quick dismissals once again put India in a spot of bother.

Ayush Badoni (28) and Sameer Choudhary (36) then put up another 49-run stand to somehow guide the score to 172 in 49.3 overs.

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Shoriful Islam was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers with a three-wicket haul, while the others took two wickets each.

In reply, Bangladesh were given a shock start by Jangra, who had both the openers offering simple catches to depart for single-digit scores. The Bengal Tigers lost wickets at regular intervals but the 74-run stand between Shamim Hossain (59) and wicket-keeper Akbar Ali (45) took them closer to the target before India held on to their nerves to clinch the victory.

The duo of Jangra and Desai were superb with the ball, dismissing five of Bangladesh’ six top-order batsmen. Their effort had the opposition reeling at 65-5 at one stage, before the important partnership that just bailed them out of trouble.

But it was not enough as India bounced back with Harsh dismissing Ali to trigger another collapse. Shamim tried his best but still fell short by two runs as India romped off to a memorable victory

Image Source: Dainik Bhaskar