Bangladesh beat UAE by 195 runs to clinch U-19 Asian Cup title

Gulf Today, Sports Reporter

Ashiqur Rahman Shibli's remarkable innings of 129 and collective bowling effort by blowers led Bangladesh to a resounding 195-run victory over the UAE in the ACC Men’s U-19 Asia Cup 2023 final.

With this win, they secured their first-ever title in the tournament. Batting first, Bangladesh U-19 faced an early setback, losing their first wicket with only 14 runs on the board in five overs.

Shibli and Chowdhur Md Rizwan then crafted a solid 125-run partnership for the second wicket. Despite Dhruv Parashar dismissing Rizwan at 60, the partnership had reached 135. Shibli continued to anchor the innings, forming a significant 86-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Ariful Islam, who scored 50 off 40 balls. Despite wickets falling at regular intervals, Shibli waged a lone battle, finishing with a brilliant 129 runs off 149 balls, featuring 12 boundaries and one six. Bangladesh U-19 concluded their innings at 282-8.

In response, UAE struggled to chase the target of 283, slipping to 39-4 within ten overs, thanks to outstanding bowling performances from Maruf Mridha and Rohanat Doullah Borson. Although Dhruv Parashar showed resistance with an unbeaten 25 off 40 balls, he lacked support as wickets continued to fall rapidly. Bangladesh bowlers dominated, bundling out UAE for a mere 87 runs in 25 overs. Parashar was the top scorer, and Akshat Rai was the only other UAE batter to reach double figures with 11 runs.

Maruf Mridha and Rohanat Doullah Borson played pivotal roles in the destruction, claiming three wickets each, while Iqbal Hossain Emon and Sheikh Paevez Jibon picked up two wickets each.

Shibli's outstanding performance earned him the Man of the Match and Man of the Tournament awards, having scored the highest runs (255) in the entire tournament.