India A all out for 0 in Super Over, Vaibhav Suryavnashi told not to bat; Bangladesh win match of self-destruction
Bangladesh A defeated India A in a chaotic semi-final of the Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025, advancing to the final for the first time since 2019.
It was a clear case of who could self-destruct better in the India A vs Bangladesh A Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025 semi-final match in Doha. 40 overs and a Super Over later, it was India A who managed to do more blunders than their opponents. In a contest full of inexplicable decisions and a mockery of match awareness, Bangladesh A beat India A to knock them out of the tournament and enter the final for the first time since 2019. In the final on Sunday, they will face the winner of the second semi-final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
For starters, Bangladesh should have won the match in the legitimate 40 overs, but for a brainfade moment for their captain, Akbar Ali. India needed 4 runs off the last ball. Left-arm spinner Rakibul bowled one into the blockhole of Harsh Dubey, who could only drill it to long on. On a normal day, it should have been just a single, but on Friday, it resulted in three.
Here's how... The long on fielder threw the ball to keeper Akbar Ali, seeing Dubey making a desperate dash for a second run. The throw was a wide one. Akbar collected it cleanly, but instead of just holding on to the ball, which should have resulted in a Bangladesh win by 1 run, he decided to aim for the stumps and miss it. India seized the opportunity and took the third run to take the match to the Super Over.
After 40 overs of action, both teams finished on 194/6.
We won't have to go too far back or forward to find the next blunder in the match. Even before the last-ball harakiri, in the fourth ball of the last over of India's chase, Ashutosh Sharma hit it straight to Jishan at long-off, who not only dropped the catch but also palmed it for a boundary.
In the Super Over, it was India's turn to return the favour. For some strange reason, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, India's leading run-scorer in the tournament and the tournament's highest six-hitter, did not walk out to bat. Captain Jitesh Sharma and Ramandeep Singh did. What's worse? Jitesh went for a reverse lap on the very first ball and lost his stumps. In walked Ashutosh Sharma. Still no Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Ripon Mondal nailed another good yorker and Ashutosh skied it only as far as the cover fielder, who, unlike most of his teammates, did not make the mistake of dropping the catch.
India were all out for 0 in the Super Over in just two balls. Yes, rub your eyes and read again, it still won't change!
If you thought the self-destruction was over, think again. Needing just one run to win in the Super Over, Bangladesh batter Yasir Ali went for the glory shot and got holed out at long on. The dejected Indian players got a new lease of life thanks to a splendid catch at the long-on boundary by Ramandeep Singh. However, it was dashed in the ball itself as leg-spinner Suyash Sharma bowled a wide.
The Bangladesh batters in the middle breathed a sigh of relief before bursting into celebrations. All those drop catches and the brainefade from their captain in the last over, they got over the line. It was largely due to the brilliance of Ripon Mondal Abdul Gaffar Saqlain's bowling and a whirlwind knock of 48 off just 18 balls by Mehrob.
