India captain Uday Saharan and Bangladesh spinner involved in heated argument in U19 World Cup; umpire steps in

Uday Saharan and Ariful Islam separated by umpire during India vs Bangladesh match in U19 World Cup

India. Bangladesh. And Under-19 World Cup. There is history, there is tension, there is aggression, there is drama and of course, there is quality cricket. It was no different this time around. In India’s first match of the 2024 U-19 World Cup against Bangladesh at Bloemfontein in South Africa, Uday Saharan, the captain of the Indian side, was involved in a heated argument with Ariful Islam. And it happened when Saharan was in the middle of a lovely innings, stitching a big partnership with Adarsh Singh.

After the second ball of the 25th over, Saharan was seen having a few words with Ariful. The Bangladesh off-spinner was not the one to back away. He came close to the Indian captain and before things could go out of control, umpire Donovan Koch stepped in. He separated the two and had a word with both of them.

India vs Bangladesh U19 World Cup Live Score

It was difficult to gauge what triggered the exchange but replays did seem to suggest it might have been due to Ariful words when Saharan was trying to go back for the second run in the previous ball. The right-handed batter returned to his crease and immediately turned towards to Bangladesh spinner to mouth a few words. Ariful was having none of it. he gave it back before the umpire intervened.

When this was transpiring in the middle, the commentators were quick to remind the viewers about the heated final between the two teams in the 2020 edition of the tournament. It was one of the most ill-tempered matches in the history of U-19 World Cups as players from both sides sledged uncontrollably, bumped into each other many times and even came close to exchanging blows at the end of the match, which was won by Bangladesh.

Coming back to Saturday’s Group A encounter, Adarsh and skipper Saharan hit patient fifties as India managed a decent 251 for 7. Left-arm seamer Maruf Mridha (5/43) did damage at the start and during slog overs by bowling in the right areas but would be a bit miffed with his skipper, who got his calculations wrong and didn’t let him complete his quota of 10 overs.

Possessing a skiddy action like Mustafizur Rahaman, Maruf varied his lengths, bowled closer to stumps at the start and mixed cutters with wide yorkers at the death to make life difficult for the India colts.

While the Indian batters found it difficult to get boundaries, the target might not be all that bad as the average score of teams batting first in Youth ODIs (U-19 ODI) at this ground is 201, and the highest successful chase is 243. In fact, India’s 251/7 is the third-highest score at this ground.

The team’s designated finisher Sachin Dhas showed admirable technique and temperament during death overs with a nice little unbeaten cameo of 26 off 20 balls that took the score past 250-run mark.

The pull shot that went for six off seamer Rohanat Doullah Borson was a treat for the eyes.

However, the foundation of the Indian innings was laid by Adarsh (76 off 96 balls) and skipper Saharan (64 off 94 balls), who added 116 runs for the third wicket in nearly 24 overs (23.5).

The two youngsters didn’t look too comfortable against the Bangladesh spinners — offie Sheikh Paevez Jibon (0/39 in 10 overs) and left-arm spinner Mahfuzur Rahaman Rabby (1/41 in 10 overs), who is also the skipper of the side.

The two spinners didn’t let the set batters get away as Adarsh had six fours and Saharan only four. In fact, Indian batters got only 14 boundaries and two sixes in 50 overs.

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