Under-19 Asia Cup | Bangladesh crushes UAE to lift trophy
The Hindu
Ashiqur Rahman Shibli stars with 129 as Bangladesh win Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai by 195 runs.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ashiqur Rahman Shibli continued his splendid run with a second century in five matches as Bangladesh crushed UAE by 195 runs to win the Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai on December 17.
Opening the batting, Ashiqur smashed 12 fours and one six in his knock of 129 (149 balls) as Bangladesh posted 282/8 after hosts UAE opted to field.
In reply, UAE surrendered meekly to fold up for 87 in 24.5 overs as Bangladesh clinched the eight-nation tournament with five wins from as many games.
The seam trio of left-arm quick Maruf Mridha (7-0-29-3), Iqbal Hossain Emon (6-0-15-2) and Rohanat Doullah Borson (6-2-26-3) caused a flutter to have UAE at 61/7 inside 15 overs.
Offspinner Sheikh Paevez Jibon (4.5-1-7-2) then wrapped up the issue with his tidy spell. For UAE, Dhruv Parashar waged a lone battle at No. 4 to be 25 not out.
Opener Akshat Rai (11) was the next-best scorer, while the others failed to reach double digits.
For Bangladesh, Ashiqur finished with 378 runs from five innings at 126.00 to be adjudged both player of the match and series.
He has worn India’s blues, albeit in an Under-19 World Cup, with K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat as his teammates. He has proudly adorned the Lion’s Crest — the famed Mumbai cricket logo — in all three formats. He has played with Yuvraj Singh, against Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid and has the likes of Rahul and Joe Root in his illustrious list of dismissals. He is also a software developer for an IT giant, based in California. Virtually every middle-class Indian over the last three decades at some stage dreams of being either a cricketer or an IT professional. Saurabh Netravalkar has been combining two dreams, even after relocating to USA to pursue academics at the prestigious Cornell University in 2015.
Unlike most of the Olympic-bound athletes, who opt to train abroad before the big event, boxer Amit Panghal prefers training in home conditions prior to Paris 2024. A former World championships silver medallist and a World No. 1, Panghal won the 51kg quota place in the only chance he got. He wants to follow his own plans to script success in Paris.