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U19 Asia Cup 2023 Semi-Final | Ariful Islam's Heroics Ends India's Title Dream

image-lq6n5lt6IND U19 VS BAN U19 (X.com)

Brief Scores: IND U19: 188-10 (42.4 Overs) [Musheer Khan 50 (62); Murugan Abhishek 62 (73); Maruf Mridha 4 /41 (10); Rohanat Doullah Borson 2/40 (7)] lost to BAN U19: 189-6 (42.5 Overs) [Ariful Islam 94 (90); Ahrar Amin 44 (101); Naman Tiwari 3 /35 (9); Raj Limbai 2/47 (10)] by four wickets.

Bangladesh U19 team produced the one of the biggest upsets of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament as they knocked out favourites India u19 in the second round of semi-finals. The Tigers will meet UAE in the finals to fight for the ultimate prize.

Indian batting order bows down to Bangladesh’s bowling unit

Bangladesh captain Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby won the coin flip contest and asked Uday Saharan to lead his side to bat first. 

However, the Indian top order collapsed as they lost three wickets in the powerplay itself. Maruf Mridha dominated as he scalped four wickets in his 10-over quota while allowing only 41 runs in the process. Yet, Musheer Khan and Murugan Abhishek tried to put up a brave fight by scoring a half-century each.

However, it wasn't enough, as the Indian U19 team were bundled inside 200 runs. At the end of the first inning of the high voltage semi-finals, India handed over a below-par target of 189 runs for the Bangladeshi side to chase down.


Ariful Islam's scintillating knock powers BAN U19 to final

Needless to say, the Indian bowling unit faced an uphill task to defend the below-par total. Regardless, Raj Limbani drew first blood as he clipped opener Jishan Alam's bails in his first over. Naman Tiwari followed his teammate's cue to remove Chowdhury Md Rizwan in the sixth over of the second innings.

Bangladesh was under intense pressure due to early jitters, and suddenly, the Indian side regained its lost voice. However, middle-order batter Ariful Islam came to the rescue and took the game away from India.

He stabilized the Bangladeshi innings and took his time on the crease to settle down. Amid unprecedented challenges and the pressure of a knockout game, Islam kept his temperament in check to guide his team to an exemplary win.

Ariful Islam fell short of a well-deserved century by six runs as Raj Limbani removed him at 94 runs off 90 balls. But he set the tone for his team to qualify for the U19 Asia Cup finals. Additionally, Ahrar Amin played a perfect anchor role to score 44 runs off 101 deliveries. 

Bangladesh U19 team chased down the target with seven overs to spare and will meet UAE in the finals of the U19 Asia Cup tournament.