|| CF DESK ||

Bangladesh suffered a heavy defeat against the defending champions India in the U19 World Cup on Saturday as Bangladesh under-19’s mission started with a 84-run loss.

The young Tigers invited India to bat after winning the toss in the first match. Responding to that invitation, India set a target of 252 runs to Bangladesh with half-centuries from Adarsh ​​Singh and Uday Saharan.

Bangladesh pacer Maruf Mridha got his career-best fifer to keep India under control.

Despite losing two batters in the top order for 31 runs in South Africa's Bloemfontein, the youth World Cup record champions reached 250.

In the third wicket, Adarsh ​​and Uday put together a partnership of 116 runs and dealt with the opening trouble.

Adarsh ​​could have been out earlier. A valid ball was seen on the screen giving the umpire a no ball. If not, India's innings could have stopped earlier. Adarsh’s 76 ​runs completed with 6 fours off 96 balls.

After that, captain Uday was batting with responsibility, but he was dismissed for 64 runs by a great delivery by Bangladesh captain Mahfuzur Rabby. Then Priyanshu Moliya (23), Aravelly Avanish (23) and Sachin Dhas (26) contributed to India's innings stopping at 251 runs.

Maruf got 5 wickets off 43 runs in 8 overs. Besides, Chowdhury Mohammad Rizwan and Mahfuzur took one wicket each.

In reply, Bangladesh openers Ashiqur Rahman Shibli and Jishan Alam added a sharp 38 for the first wicket. India then struck in the 8th over, when Jishan tried to pierce a Raj Limbani delivery past the covers, but was brilliantly caught by Murugan Abhishek.

In a riveting turn of events, India's vice-captain, Saumy Pandey, made a remarkable debut in the U19 World Cup, securing back-to-back wickets and disrupting the flow of the Bangladesh innings.

Kulkarni, too, left his mark on the wicket-takers' list, dismissing Ahrar Amin (5) leg before wicket.

A resilient partnership for the fifth wicket between Ariful Islam and Mohammad Shihab James played a pivotal role in steering Bangladesh away from a precarious situation. The duo displayed patience and skill, bringing the Young Tigers closer to their target.

Nevertheless, the fortunes shifted when Ariful fell to Musheer Khan in the 35th over, significantly impacting the outcome of the match.

Bangladesh will meet their next counterparts Ireland on Monday.