U-19 World Cup: India have their revenge on Bangladesh by defeating them in quarterfinal by 5 wickets
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and two years is enough cooling time for the U-19 Indian team to get revenge against their Bangladesh counterpart.
The two teams met in the quarterfinal stage of the super league. When the draw came out, everyone was keen to witness another fierce match, but it was not to be this time around.
The last time these two teams met in the 2020 U19 World Cup final. Having posted only 177 runs on the board in their first inning, India was able to make it a very intense encounter in the second inning. With rain playing a crucial role, both the teams were locked into a fierce battle for victory.
The emotions ran high, as they often are in an India-Bangladesh game. But despite all of it, Bangladesh was able to clinch the victory and had the final laugh.
India played the game in a dominating fashion
The Indians were determined not to repeat their previous mistakes this time around. Under the able captaincy of Yash Dhull, they looked composed and determined from the first ball of the game, which nearly got them a wicket as well.
The actual wicket came an over later when Ravi Kumar castled Mahfijul Islam. The pacer struck two more times in a small interval to reduce the Bangladesh team to 14/3.
The spinners then took charge of the condition as Vicky Otswal opened up the floodgates to expose the middle order of Bangladesh. Following this, the defending champions lost four wickets at the expense of just 29 runs. Taking their score to 56 for 7.
SM Mehrob and Ashquir Zaman tried to fight back against formidable-looking Indian bowling. Together they added 50 runs for the 8th wicket. The resilience from the lower order didn’t last long, though, and Angkrish removed Mehrob for 30 runs.
Zaman, the only other set-looking batsman, found a horrendous way to get out. He was dismissed while taking a risky second run after the fielder fumbled in the deep. Siddharth Yadav, the fielder, made up for his fumble by a tremendous direct hit at the striker’s end to dismiss Zaman.
The final wicket was taken by the Indian pacer Hangargekar. It was a reward for the stupendous bowling performance he had put up in the match. He was wicketless until that point in the game and cleaned up the Bangladesh batting line-up with an aggressive delivery.
Team India and the middle order woes
Batting in the second inning was not an easy task either. Just like Bangladesh, India too lost the early wicket of Harnoor Singh for a duck. Raghuvanshi and Rasheed anchored the inning by sewing a 70 run partnership for the second wicket with Rasheed.
India again lost a series of wickets in the middle order, but the Indian captain Yash Dhull remained on the crease to ensure that he saw his side over the line. A magnificent strike by Taambe saw India win the match with five wickets to spare.
The Indian team is en route to the semi-final stage of the tournament. They will face Australia on Wednesday for a chance to reserve a berth in the final.
