U19 Asia Cup 2023: The Indian Connection Behind Bangladesh's Fairytale Run

The Bangladesh cricket team is currently on a sensational run of form during the ongoing U19 Asia Cup 2023. The Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby-led side won all three of their group stage matches and then went on to defeat India in the semi-finals. Bangladesh were able to restrict India to a total of 188 and then followed it up with a disciplined batting performance to clinch the encounter. Bangladesh approached the chase with a calculated game plan and a lot of credit for that goes to batting consultant Wasim Jaffer. The former Indian cricket team opener has been serving as the Bangladesh U-19 cricket team's batting consultant for the past couple of years and his impact is quite apparent.

“I've got as much information as they have, but I know a little bit more about the Indian team. We played India in a quadrangular series just before coming here. So we played against these guys and the boys know about the Indian team and that experience has helped them,” he told Gulf News.

Following the victory, Jaffer also took to social media to congratulate the Bangladesh cricketers.

Well done boys, great effort from the team to beat India in the semis. Onto the Finals now! #INDvBAN #U19AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/YSTi2ptd18

Coming to the match, Ariful Islam's counter-punching fifty and a fiery spell by left-arm pacer Maruf Mridha helped Bangladesh score a facile four-wicket win over India.

On a slightly double-paced pitch, Indian batters struggled to get going before getting bundled out for 188 in 42.4 overs, with Musheer Khan (50) and Murugan Abhishek (62) doing all the scoring for them.

Maruf took 4 for 41 to give early jolts to India in the second semifinal.

Despite some jitters, Bangladesh went over the line pretty comfortably in 42.5 overs