U19 Asia Cup 2018, semi-final: India vs Bangladesh, preview and predicted playing XI
Both Bangladesh and India will aim to seal U19 Asia Cup final spot when they go up against each other in the first semifinal of the U19 Asia Cup 2018 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, October 4.
India U19 dominated Group A and qualified by winning all three fixtures, While Bangladesh won two out of three matches and are ranked second in Group B.
In their most recent clash during ICC U19 CWC 2018 on January 26 at Queenstown, the Little Blues inflicted a heavy defeat on Junior Tigers. After opting to bat first, India posted a decent total of 265 and then wrapped up the Tigers' innings at 134 in the 43rd over to win the match by 131 runs.
India U19
They will be going into the semifinal of the U19 Asia Cup undefeated. Indian team started their Asia Cup with impressive 172 runs victory over Nepal. In the next two games, Indian boys dismantled both UAE and Afghanistan and won those games by 227 and 51 runs respectively. Despite the middle order chinks, they are favourites to win this all-important clash against Tigers.
Batting: The opening pair of Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal hold the key to India's batting. Both these batsmen have shown sublime form in this Asia Cup and they are expected to take the U19's off to yet another solid start. Yashasvi is leading the runs charts with 196 runs and Devdutt follows him with 151 runs.
The Indians will also bank on the likes of Anuj Rawat, Ayush Badoni and skipper Pawan Shah, who have also chipped in with fine contributions. Their only concern will be Prabhsimran Singh, who is not looking in the best of form. The wicketkeeper-batsman will be eager to make a comeback and guide India to another final.
Bowling: Siddharth Desai is the best bowler in the tournament with 13 wickets in three matches and he is likely to rattle Bangladesh's top-order early on. Harsh Tyagi and Sameer Choudhary have also proved their worth throughout the tournament having picked up six and three wickets respectively. These two will be the skipper's go-to bowlers in the middle overs.
Expected Playing XI: Pavan Shah (C), Anuj Rawat, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Pavan Shah, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Jangra, Sameer Choudhary, PrabhSimran Singh, Harsh Tyagi, Sabir Khan, Ayush Badoni and Siddharth Desai.
Bangladesh U19
After losing their opening fixture to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh have managed to gain some momentum with wins in their last two matches against Pakistan and Hong Kong respectively. They would have been pleased with their bowling performance in both games as they managed to restrict opposition modest totals of 187 and 91.
Batting: Batting has been the major concern for Tigers throughout the tournament as most of their batsmen have not managed big scores this season. Though they will mostly bank on Shamim Hossain who has their only half centuries of the tournament and the skipper will hope that his key man is able to replicate his performance in the big semi-final against India.
Except him, Prantik Nawroz, skipper Towrid Hridoy and Akbar Ali have been other names who managed to get some starts in this Asia Cup and the team will need all of them to come out blasting and post a huge total against India, else it will be very difficult for them to conquer the fascinating Indian lineup.
Bowling: In this department, the Tigers have a formidable lineup in Rishad Hussain, Shoriful Islan and Mrittunjoy Chowdhary. All of them have the capability to thrash any batting unit on their day and these are likely to trouble the Boys in Blue in the semifinal.
Rishad is the Tigers most successful bowler with six wickets in three games. His three-wicket haul against Pakistan swung the match in his team's favour. While Shoriful has taken five wickets so far and is expected to lead from the front, Chowdhary too has an outstanding economy rate of 1.92 and he could build pressure on India by slipping in a few quiet overs.
Expected Playing XI: Towhid Hriday (C), Prantik Nawroz Nabil, Shamim Hossain, Akbar Ali, Rishad Hossain, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Rakibul Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Rakibul Hasan.