Bangladesh knock India out of U-19 Asia Cup

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 14 (IANS) Defending champions India were knocked out of the Under-19 Asia Cup after suffering their second defeat in three days as the Rahul Dravid-coached side went down to Bangladesh by eight wickets here on Tuesday.

After being upset by Nepal on Sunday, the Indian colts were once again at the receiving end as Bangladesh chased down a modest 188 with eight wickets and four overs to spare in a rain-curtailed match at the Royal Selangor Club here.

The defeat meant that Bangladesh and Nepal, from Group A, will join Pakistan and Afghanistan, respectively, in the semi-finals.

Put in to bat, India lost half their side on 96 runs as none of the top order batsmen managed to get going against a disciplined Bangladesh bowling attack.

Salman Khan's unbeaten 39 remained India's highest as two others -- Harvik Desai (21) and Anuj Rawat (34) -- wasted their respective starts.

The last four wickets added 71 to shore up the total to 187/8 in the must-win tie.

For the Bangladeshis, medium pacer Mohammad Robiul Hoque was the wrecker-in-chief with figures of 3/43 while
Nayeem Hasan and Hafif Hossain contributed with two wickets apiece.

In reply, the Bangladesh's opening pair of Pinak Ghosh (81 not out) and Mohammad Naim Sheikh (38) provided a solid 82-run start to dent India's hopes.

Ghosh then teamed up with Mohammad Tawhid Hridoy (48 not out) to accelerate towards victory with an unbroken 83-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Brief Scores: India U-19: 187/8 (Salman Khan 39 not out, Anuj Rawat 34; Robiul 3/43, Nayeem 2/38) lose to Bangladesh U-19: 191/2 (Pinak Ghosh 81 not out, Mohammad Tawhid Hridoy 48 not out) by 8 wickets.