While Bangladesh upsets India once more to get to the Under-19 Asia Cup Final, the UAE stuns Pakistan.

The Bangladesh team’s valiant attempt to defeat Team India and go to the tournament’s final in the current Under-19 Asia Cup. Thanks to a counterattacking game, Ariful Islam’s valiant fifty-seven and Maruf Mridha’s outstanding four-wicket haul helped the Asian team secure a remarkable four-wicket victory in Dubai on Friday, December 15.

Notably, in the second semifinal of the continental event, India’s captain, Uday Saharan, chose to bat first after winning the toss. But on a challenging two-paced surface, the Indian hitters were unable to establish their groove, thus it appeared like the strategy had backfired. Team India was down to 61/6 in 15.5 overs at one point, but significant fifties from Musheer Khan (50 off 61) and Murugan Abhishek (62 off 74) calmed the ship and anchored an important 84-run stand for the 7th wicket.

In the run chase, the Bangla Tigers were also knocked around early and were at 34/3 after 9.4 overs. After that, Ahrar Amin (44 off 101) came to the wicket and, alongside Ariful Islam, produced a match-winning partnership of 138 runs for the fourth wicket. Surprisingly, Ariful first appeared to be out of sync, but as he spent more time in the middle, he began to fool about with the Indian bowlers and produced some incredible strokes around the park. Bangladesh’s tailenders completed the task, despite the fact that both batsmen were out to give India some outside opportunities.

UAE defeats Pakistan to determine the Under-19 Asia Cup championship matchup with Bangladesh.

Speaking about the first semifinal, team Pakistan was expected to cause yet another huge upset. The hosts UAE made history by defeating a formidable Men in Green Under-19 team to go to the ACC U19 Asia Cup final in 2023. The Emirates team defeated the visitors by 11 runs in what turned out to be an incredible victory.

The captain of the UAE team, Aayan Afzal Khan, led from the front with this heroic fifty (55 off 57), while Aryansh Sharma (46 off 70) provided solid assistance at the other end. The hosts, who had requested to bat first, lost half of their innings in the 23rd over and were suffering at 85/5 overall. The UAE captain, though, stayed to the very finish to make sure his team had a decent score to contend with. UAE scored 193 runs in the end as a result.

In response, Pakistan seems to have begun smugly seeing 194 as an easy target because of their solid Under-19 record. They lost two wickets early on, but they made a strong comeback in the middle. The match went to the wire because the Emirates bowlers refused to give up. UAE caused three run-outs in Pakistan’s innings with a combination of excellent fielding and a strong bowling effort. As a result, Pakistan bowled out for 182 runs in 49.3 overs, painfully missing the objective.

The UAE and Bangladesh will now square off in the Under-19 Asia Cup grand final on Sunday, December 17, in Dubai.