Dhaka, Sep 28 – Bangladesh opener Liton Kumar Das completed his maiden ODI century with scoring 121 runs for Bangladesh’s total collection of 222 for all in 48.3 overs against India in the final of 14th Asia Cup a Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. In reply, India scored 222 for seven wickets in stipulated 50 overs and won the match by 3 wickets in a nail-biting finish. It was a keenly contested game. India scored the winning run in the last ball. Tigers would have been in a comfortable situation of their middle order did not collapse.
Sent in to bat first, Liton and Mehidy Hasan Miraz built up a solid partnership of 120 off 20.5 overs in the opening wicket, which is the first hundred-run stand for Bangladesh openers in tournament as their openers managed only 5, 16, 15, 15 and 1 for the first wicket partnerships in the last five matches.
Miraz [32 off 59b; 3×4] was removed from opening stand as he was caught by Ambati Rayudu off Kedar Jadhav, and then Bangladesh’s next four wickets — Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah Riyad — were out on single digits within a span of 23 off 7.1 overs, from 128/2 in 23.5 to 151/5 in 32.2 overs.
Liton continued up to 188/6 in 47 overs, featuring 12 boundaries and two sixes in his innings of 117 balls before being stumped by keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Kuldeep Yadav, reportedly by a bad umpiring decision.
Number-seven batsman Soumya Sarkar [33off 45b; 1×4; 1×6] was another double-digit scorer who was run out on 222/9 in 48.1 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav got three wickets for 45 runs while Kedar Jadhav [2/41] and Yuzvendra Chahal [1/31] and Jasprit Bumrah [1/39] shared four wickets for India. – UNB and GreenWatch News Desk
