ICC World Cup Under 19 World Cup 2020, Final
Bangladesh Vs India Played at Potchefstroom, South Africa on 9 February 2020
Brief Scorecard:
Bangladesh 170/7 in 42.1 Overs (Pervez Hossain Emon 47, Akbar Ali 43, Tanzid Hasan 17, Ravi Bisnoi 4/30 and SS Misra 2/26) beat India All Out 177 in 47.2 Overs (YVK Jaiswal 88, NT Tilak Verma 38, DC Jurel 22, Avishek Das 3/40, Tanzim Hasan Shakib 2/28, Shoriful Islam 2/31, Rokibul Hasan 1/29) by 3 Wickets in Duckworth & Lewis (D/L) Method
Player of the Match: Akbar Ali. (Bangladesh)
Player of The Tournament: YVK Jaiswal (India)
Bangladesh needs 178 to win the World Championship.
History was in the making and history was made. Bangladesh Under 19 Cricket Team winning the first ever championship in the global tournament (ICC World Cup Under 19: 2020) has created set a new milestone in the sporting history of Bangladesh. For the first time any team won the global tournament. It was an event, which has not happened before. No praise is adequate, no words of depiction are enough for this exceptional achievement. Tiger cubs made the entire Bangladeshi nation proud in the world committee of nations. Bangladesh is now Champions of the world. In the words of English Poet John Keats “A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOR EVER.”
Most fittingly King Akbar Ali led the all important victory being the man of the match carrying his team to glory with fit for the event performance. Chasing a small victory target 178 in 50 overs when his impressive brigade was looking down the barrel at 5/85 with opener Emon injured hurt, he carried his team on his broad shoulders. Playing a cool calculative innings of unbeaten 43 took his team across the finishing tape when the rain interrupted target was reset at 171. Bangladesh won by 3 wickets on Duckworth and Lewis Method. Earlier a well executed bowling and fielding plan clinically executed caused strong Indian batting collapsing from 3/156 to 177 all out. Bangladesh openers were all guns blazing in response till leg spinner Ravi Bisnoi casting mystery webs reduced them 0/50 to 5/85 Bisnoi’s well conceived googly could not be decoded by Bangladesh top and middle order. Opener Emon after looking great also developed hamstring injury. Bangladesh was looking down the barrel. Captain Akbar was unnerved. For a while with Avishek Das and later with Emon he rallied his team around. With weather forecast threatening for thunder storm at some stage his plan was going steady and not loosing the wicket. Bangladesh stayed above D/L target all the time rain came at some stage when Akbar was number 9 batsman Rokibul. Match was curtailed a few over. Bangladesh target was reset for scoring only 7 in 30 balls. Bangladesh did it and teen tigers walked into history.
Indian Innings of 177 All Out
India was by and far the best performing team of the tournament. They were the defending champions and favorites once again for winning the event this year. The team had brilliant batting and batted deep. They possessed the most potent bowling attack. Bangladesh was a wonderful unit of steady performers, a believe in their ability bunch of players. On the day Bangladesh held their composure but India could not.
Indian batting for the first time in the tournament came under stern tests as Bangladesh Captain Akber Ali winning the toss put them in on a moisture retaining wicket. There was plenty of reward for the new ball bowlers bowling at the right channel on right length. Bangladesh for this match replaced left arm spinner Murad with an additional pacer Avishek Das. It turned out as a masterstroke. Avishek not only dislodged the opening partnership but also took 3/43 richly paying back the confidence showed upon him. Two top quality new ball bowlers Shorful Islam and Tanzim Hasan Shakib exploited the condition exceedingly well. They bowled steadily to their well-set field giving otherwise free scoring Indian openers Jaiswal and Saxena no freedom at all for playing strokes. Avishek coming as first change in the 7th over squeezed out Saxena. He was attempting playing a Jail out desperate stroke. Bangladesh bowling was accurate and penetrative and fielding was razor sharp. Every player did their job bestowed upon. The scoring became a tough ask even though brilliant Jaiswal and Tilak Verma weathering the storm set a great platform adding slow but steady 94 runs second wicket partnership.
Desperate for success Akbar brought his best wicket taking options Tanzib Hasan Shakib and Rakibul Hasan in their second spell. They immediately struck gold. Well-set Verma mistimed a cut and was caught at deep point for 38. The dynamic captain Garg was also snapped up in the cover of the bowling of Rokibul when the ball gripped and bounced. Indian batting was shocked and awed. From 1/104 it soon became 3/114 in the 32nd over. Jaiswal was playing all by himself a wonderful innings of maturity and grace. Another master stroke was executed by Captain Akbar bringing in Shoriful in the 40th over when India on 3/156 was looking good for way above 200 runs. He enticed Jaispal cutting to point to a delivery having little room. Jaiswal was at well made 88 at that stage. The very next ball Shoriful trapped Veer LBW for a first ball duck. This triggered a major collapse as Indian innings was wrapped up for 177 in 47.2 overs. The last 7 wickets could add only 21. The dominance of Bangladesh bowling and fielding was so strong that 8 out of 11 Indian batsmen could not reach double digit. Panicked Jurel and Bishnoi were run out. All Bangladesh bowlers were miserly accurate Avishek took 3/40, Shoriful Islam took 2/31 and TanzimShakib 2/28.
At midway Bangladesh looks set for rewriting their cricket history. There was no hurry for scoring rate. Patience and passion which this teen tigers have shown all the way so far in this tournament should lead them to dream destination. Bangladesh had impressive start. Otherwise very impressive Indian bowling appeared a bit rattled as Bangladesh openers raced to 50/0 by the 9th over when captain Garg was forced bringing in his ace leg spinner Bisnoi. Suddenly Bangladesh batsmen had buttery in their stomach. Bishnoi in a wonderful spell of leg spin bowling reduced Bangladesh from 0/50 to 4/65 in no time taking the cream of Bangladesh batting out. Well set opener Emon also developed hamstring injury. In came Akbar the king in his rescue mission. He had only the lower middle order, Shamim and injured Emon for him to work with. Suddenly the target looked a distant destination. What a wonderful cool calculative leader he is. Never for a moment he looked panicked at all. Together with injured Emon back again he resurrected the innings. He was one eye on asking rate in the event match was rain curtailed. The target was batting steady and batting safe. Emon added useful 47 runs. When Emon got out in the 32nd over Bangladesh was 7/143. No pressure on asking rate but Akbar had tail to wag with him. How doggedly him and Rokibul batted staying above D/L target all the time. The match was ultimately interrupted by rain with Bangladesh at 163/7. A brief interruption required Bangladesh scoring only 7 in 30 overs which Akbar and Rokibul accomplished with no issues at all. Bangladesh was crowned with the Champions of The World. King Akabr played a Dhoni (MSD) like finish and was fittingly named Player Of The Match.
Indians had two out standing performances in the match. Among the ruins very impressive YVK Jaiswal played a well matured 88 and quality leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi taking 4/30 almost single handedly turned the table upon Bangladesh. But end of the day the most deserving team of the tournament Bangladesh became world champion. It was a feat never achieved by any Bangladesh team in any global championship before. The way Bangladesh team conducted themselves in the entire tournament, the discipline, the resolve, the execution were exemplary. Match after match the team gained momentum. They never lost focus, never lost momentum. Emon came back to back with extreme pain. Rokibul stayed at the wicket for 25 balls defying quality Indian bowling desperate to knock his wicket .Only possible for a Never Say Die Unit.
THIS MAY ONLY BE A GAME OF CRICKET BUT SUCH OUT OF THE BOX ACHIEVEMENT INSPIRE AN ENTIRE NATION . Hats off to Teen Tigers.
BDST: 0842 HRS, FEB 10, 2020
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