At the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai today, the Bangladesh Under-19 side defeated the United Arab Emirates by 195 runs to win their first-ever Under-19 Asia Cup. The victory was secured by opener Ashiqur Rahman Shibli, who scored an outstanding century.
The fact that the youthful Tigers emerged as the undefeated champs made their achievement all the more sweeter.
When given the opportunity to bat first, Bangladesh amassed a massive 282-8 lead behind Shibli’s 149 ball-129. Following that, the bowlers used a methodical approach to bowl, ending the UAE innings for a mere 87 runs in 24.5 overs.
With 378 runs at an incredible average of 126, Shibli, who amassed two hundreds and as many half-centuries, finished the tournament as the top run scorer.
Bangladesh made a disappointing start, losing opener Jishan Alam for just 7 but Shibli and Chowhdury M Rizwan got the side back on track with 125-run partnership for the second wicket.
Rizwan was dismissed for 60 but Ariful Islam hit 40 ball-50 to help Shibli in taking the total out of UAE’s reach. After the dismissal of Ariful, Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals but Shibli kept the runs flowing to put the side on top.
Ayman Ahmed claimed 4-52 for UAE.
However, UAE batters never could raise the hope of overhauling the total as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Only two batters could reach double digits with Dhruv Parashar making highest 25 and Akshat Rai scorung 11. A total of 14 runs came from sundries.
Maruf Mridha and Rohanat Doullah Borson claimed three wickets apiecewhile Iqbal Hossain Emon and Sheikh Parvez Jibon took two wickets each.
Bangladesh beat UAE, Japan and Sri Lanka in the group phase before beating mighty India by four wickets in the semifinal.
The UAE beat Sri Lanka and Japan in the group phase and then stunned Pakistan in the semifinal but their dream run ended against the spirited Bangladesh youngsters, who now gave the country two multinational trophies, something which the national team is yet to do.
Earlier, in 2020, Bangladesh won the Under-19 World Cup, beating India.
