DUBAI: Iqbal Hossain Emon and Azizul Hakim took three wickets each as Bangladesh defeated India by 59 runs to win the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asian Cup 2024 final here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Put first at bat, the defending champions could rack up 198 before being eliminated in the final.
Bangladesh had a difficult start to their innings as their opener Kalam Siddiki (one) died in the seventh over with just 17 runs on the board.
After the initial hiccup, captain Azizul Hakim joined hands with batsman Zawad Abrar and took the total to 41 runs in 10 overs.
Chetan Sharma broke the nascent partnership in the first delivery of the 11th over by dismissing Abrar, who made a cautious 20 off 35 deliveries.
Hakim followed suit six overs later when he fell victim to Kiran Chormale after scoring 16 off 28 balls.
His dismissal reduced Bangladesh to 66/3 in 18.4 overs but a partnership between Mohammad Shihab James and Rizan Hossan put them in a comfortable position.
The duo batted sensibly to add 62 runs until James’ dismissal in the 32nd minute. The right-handed batsman scored 40 off 67 deliveries with the help of four boundaries, including a six.
Bangladesh then faced another blow to their batting expedition later when Debasish Deba returned after scoring just one.
Hossan was then joined by Farid Hasan in the middle and together they shared an important 23-run stand, which ended with the former’s dismissal in the 38th minute.
Hossan remained Bangladesh’s top scorer with a 65-ball 47, laced with three fours.
Hasan then took charge of Bangladesh’s innings with a useful knock of 39 runs until his departure in the penultimate over.
For India, Hardik Raj, Yudhajit Guha and Sharma took two wickets each while Chomale, KP Karthikeya and Ayush Mhatre shared three wickets between them.
Chasing a modest total, India’s batting unit reached a meager 139 in 35.2 overs thanks to the bowling exploits of Emon and Hakim.
The men in blue were on track to chase down the total as they were 73/3 in 20.3 overs. But Emon inflicted a decisive collapse by dismantling their middle order.
The right-arm pacer took three wickets in quick succession to leave India reeling at 81/6 in 23 overs.
He returned brilliant bowling figures of 3/24 and was named player of the final.
Hakim further troubled India with successive strikes and led Bangladesh to a second consecutive ACC Men’s Under-19 Asian Cup title.
Captain Mohamed Amaan (26) remained India’s top scorer, followed by Raj (24) and Karthikeya (21).
Emon and Hakim shared six wickets between them, while Al Fahad bagged two.
