DUBAI: Iqbal Hossain Emon and Azizul Hakim bagged three wickets each as Bangladesh thumped India by 59 runs to win the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2024 final here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Put into bat first, the defending champions could accumulate 198 before getting bowled out in the final over.
Bangladesh had a rocky start to their innings as their opener Kalam Siddiki (one) perished in the seventh over with just 17 runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, skipper Azizul Hakim joined hands with opening batter Zawad Abrar and pushed the total to 41 runs in 10 overs.
Chetan Sharma broke the budding partnership on the first delivery of the 11th over by dismissing Abrar, who made a cautious 20 off 35 deliveries.
Hakim followed the suit six overs later when he fell victim to Kiran Chormale after scoring a scratchy 16 off 28 balls.
His dismissal had reduced Bangladesh to 66/3 in 18.4 overs but an anchoring 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 over. The right-handed batter scored 40 off 67 deliveries with the help of four boundaries including a six.
Bangladesh then coped another blow to their batting expedition an over later when Debasish Deba walked back after scoring a mere one.
Hossan was then joined by Farid Hasan in the middle and together they shared an important 23-run stand, which concluded with the former’s dismissal in the 38th over.
Hossan remained the top-scorer for Bangladesh with a 65-ball 47, laced with three fours.
Hasan then took charge of Bangladesh’s innings with a handy 39-run knock 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 unfolded on a meagre 139 in 35.2 overs, thanks to Emon and Hakim’s bowling exploits.
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 match-defining collapse by dismantling their middle order.
The right-arm pacer picked 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 adjudged the player of the final.
Hakim further unsettled India with successive strikes and led Bangladesh to their second-consecutive ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup title.
Skipper Mohamed Amaan (26) remained the top-scorer for India, followed by Raj (24) and Karthikeya (21).
Emon and Hakim shared six wickets between them, while Al Fahad bagged two.
