Bangladesh's Under-19 team won their second Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Asia Cup title with a commanding 59-run victory over India in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Before facing India in the final, Bangladesh won over Pakistan to book their spot in the title clash. Defeating two cricketing giants in back-to-back matches to claim the championship added an extra layer of pride for the junior Tigers. The win is a milestone for Bangladesh, defeating the most successful team in the competition’s history to secure the trophy. Bangladesh’s first Asia Cup win came last year when they beat the hosts United Arab Emirates in 2023. Iqbal Hossain Emon, and Azizul Hakim were the stars of Bangladesh as they claimed three wickets each while defending a total of 198 runs. Bangladesh eye ODI dominance against West Indies Electing to bat first, Bangladesh posted 198 in 49.1 overs, Rizan Hossan top-scored with a steady 47 off 65 balls, while Mohammad Shihab James (40) and Farid Hasan (39) provided crucial contributions, despite losing wickets on a regular basis. Yudhajit Guha, Hardik Raj, and Chetan Sharma bagged two wickets each. Chasing 199, India struggled against disciplined Bangladeshi bowling. Al Fahad struck early, dismissing opener Ayush Mhatre in the second over. Middle-order resistance came from captain Mohamed Amaan (26) and Hardik Raj (24), but wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Azizul Hakim and Iqbal Hossain Emon each claimed three scalps, while Al Fahad added two wickets to his tally. India’s innings folded for 139 in 35.2 overs. India had dominated this tournament, entering the final as eight-time champions – the most by any team. With their victory, Bangladesh now stands alone as the only other nation to have won the title more than once.

After much speculation, the Asian Cricket Council finally confirmed that the ACC Asia Cup will be hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket in the UAE. It means, the Lankan cricket board remained the official organizer of the event, but they’ll have to host the event in the UAE due to the ongoing political turmoil in the island nation. This year’s Asia Cup will be played in T20 format between August 27 and September 11. The decision was earlier announced by Sourav Ganguly, the president of BCCI, but an official announcement from the Asian Cricket Council was due until Wednesday. Also read: Bangladesh T20I team leaves Dhaka for Zimbabwe In a press release, the Asian Cricket Council said considering the current political situation in Sri Lanka, the board has decided it would be appropriate to relocate the event venue to the UAE. “We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup,” as Shammi Silva, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket quoted in the press release. “While I fully stand by the ACC's decision to shift the Asia Cup to the UAE considering the current context and the magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka Cricket will work closely with the ACC and Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup.” Also read: Will try our best to win ICC Women's T20 World Cup: Joty Jay Shah, the president of the Asian Cricket Council, said it took much deliberation to decide the relocation of the Asia Cup. He also said that the effort was high to host the event in Sri Lanka. A total of five teams— Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka— are scheduled to take part in this year’s Asia Cup which will be played in the T20 format.

The next edition of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Asia Cup to be held in August in Sri Lanka, the ACC has confirmed on Saturday. The last edition of the Asia Cup took place in the UAE in 2018 when India won the title beating Bangladesh in the final. The Asia cup was scheduled to be played in 2020 in Sri Lanka. But due to the pandemic hiatus, the schedule was changed twice. Also read: Mohammedan earns maiden win in low-scoring match The event will be held in the T20 format as the teams will take part in the T2o World Cup later this year. The next edition of the Asia Cup will be played in Pakistan, the ACC has also confirmed. The ACC has confirmed that this year’s Asia Cup will be held between August 27 to September 11. At the same time, the executive committee of the ACC has extended the tenure of the current president Joy Shah by one year until 2024. Also read: SA vs BAN Series 2022: Confident Bangladesh Look for Historic Series Win in Johannesburg Joy Shah took over the rule of the ACC head from Bangladesh’s Nazmul Hassan in early 2021. The committee has also upgraded the status of Qatar to the full member of the ACC from its associate status.

After an executive board meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), it was decided that this year’s Asia Cup, which was scheduled on September, will now be postponed due to the unavoidable circumstances created by COVID-19 pandemic. ACC hopes the event will take place in June 2021.