The Indian U19 team clinched their 7th ACC Asia Cup title by defeating Bangladesh U19 in a low scoring thriller at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Khettarama, Colombo.
Both the semifinals, scheduled on Thursday, had been washed out. India and Bangladesh U-19 made the final at the expense of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan U-19 after finishing on top of their respective groups.
India U19 won the toss and chose to bat first. However, they kept losing the wickets regularly with Karan Lal making 37, and skipper Dhruv Jurel making 33. Only another batsman to reach double figures was Shashwat Rawat, who made 19 as India was bowled out for 106 in 33rd over.
For Bangladesh, Shamim Hossain (3/8) and Mrittunjay Chowdhary (3/18) were the pick of bowlers.
In reply, Akash Singh (3/12) and Atharva Ankolekar, who picked 5/28, blew away the Bangladeshi U19 batsmen. Akbar Ali made 23 and Chowdhary made 21 as they fell 5 runs short of the target, being bowled out for 101 in 33 overs.
Ankolekar deservedly won the Player of the Match award for taking five wickets, while opener Arjun Azad bagged the Player of the Series honor for scoring 202 runs in four games this tournament.
BRIEF SCORES:
IND-U19 106 (K LAL 37, S HOSSAIN 3/8) defeated BAN-U19 101 (A ALI 23; A ANKOLEKAR 5/28) by 5 runs
India U19 wins the ACC Asia Cup 2019
