India A endured a humiliating loss against Bangladesh A in the first semi-final of the Rising Stars Asia Cup at Doha on Friday. The match was decided via Super Over as both teams scored 194 each in regulatory overs.
Jitesh Sharma and Ramandeep Singh walked out to bat in the all important Super Over, which turned out to be a nightmare. India lost both their wickets in the first two balls as Ripon Mondol castled skipper Jitesh with a clinical yorker. Ashutosh Sharma was then caught at extra-cover by Zawad Abrar. Most fans were left stunned as explosive opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi was not considered for the task.
Meanwhile, Suyash Sharma came to bowl for India and got rid of Yasir Ali in the first ball to raise India's hopes. However, the second ball went down the leg stump, resulting in a wide which knocked India out of the competition. Interestingly, Jitesh Sharma could have got the batter stumped in the second ball but the extra would have still counted and handed Bangladesh a win.
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Earlier, Bangladesh A after being invited to bat first piled a challenging 194/6 in 20 overs, with 61 coming in the last 18 balls. SM Meherob scored 48 off just 18 deliveries, while Habibur Rahman Sohan spearheaded the effort with a magnificent 65 off 46 balls. The 15 extras, which India conceded, further helped Bangladesh cause.
India got off to a strong response as 14-year-old wonderkid Vaibhav Suryavanshi and promising opener Priyansh Arya combined to raise the fastest team fifty of the tournament, taking just 19 balls to complete the milestone.
Suryavanshi, who had already smashed a 32-ball century earlier in the tournament, came out firing in the chase, taking apart Bangladesh A pacer Ripon with two sixes in the first three deliveries. The opening over resulted in 19 runs as Suryavanshi was only getting started.
Bangladesh A captain Akbar Ali turned to off-spinner SM Meherob in the second over as Suryavanshi’s onslaught continued. He hammered Meherob for two sixes off the last two balls of the over, maintaining his explosive tempo.
Priyansh Arya got into business in the third over. He took India A to 49/0 by hitting Jishan Alam for consecutive sixes in the third over. Suryavanshi then helped the team reach the milestone in the first ball of the fourth over by hitting a boundary.
The 14-year-old, however, lost his wicket in the fourth ball of the over after handing a straightforward catch to long-on. He was dismissed for 38(15).
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As the proceedings continued a late lapse by Bangladesh allowed India to force the match into the Super Over. Ashutosh Sharma was dropped at long-on, which resulted in a boundary, reducing the equation to eight runs off the last three balls bowled by Rakibul Hasan.
India needed four runs from the final delivery and that's when Bangladesh's errors became apparent. Harsh Dubey drilled a yorker-length ball straight down the ground, triggering a flurry of mistakes — a misfield, an errant throw to the keeper, who then missed the simplest of run-outs — allowing India to steal three runs off the final delivery. The dramatic sequence levelled the scores only to briefly extend India’s hopes, which were eventually crushed.
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