Defending champions Bangladesh were bundled out cheaply for 111 runs in 37.1 overs against beaten finalists India in the super league quarterfinal of the ICC Under-19 World Cup Cricket at North Sound in West Indies on Saturday.
Sent in to bat first, Bangladesh faced initial batting collapse losing top three wickets— Mofijul Islam (2), Iftakher Hossain(1) and Prantik Nawrose Nabil (7) — for just 14 runs in 7. 4 overs.
At one stage, Bangladesh were struggling for 56 for 7 in 23.4 overs losing the wickets of captain Rakibul Hasan and reliable batter Aich Mollah.
But, SM Meherob pairing with Ashiqur Zaman repaired the early damage scoring 50 runs in the 8th wicket stand and guided the team toward 100 plus runs.
Meherob contributed 48-ball 30 runs featuring six boundaries while Ashiqur made 29-ball 16 runs with a boundary.
Two down Aich Mollah was the other Bangladeshi batter scoring double figure — 17 runs off 48 balls –hitting the only six of the innings.
Ravi Kumar made the major damage in Bangladesh innings grabbing three wickets for 14 runs in seven overs with a maiden while Vicky Ostwal took two wickets for 25 runs in nine overs also with a maiden.
The Young Tigers, led by Akbar Ali, clinched their first ever Under-19 World Cup crown beating India by three wickets in the final in South Africa in 2020,
But, the performances of Rakibul Hasan- led Bangladesh U-19 team was not up to the mark this time. as they were eliminated from the Youth Asia Cup losing to India by 103 runs in the semifinal in Sharjah, just ahead of the U-19 World Cup.
Moreover, they made a frustrating start in the ongoing U-19 World Cup losing to England by seven wickets in the opening match.
However, Bangladesh reached the quarterfinal as the group runners-up beating Canada by eight wickets and UAE by nine wickets.