Parashar says UAE can still reach Under-19 Asia Cup last four despite defeat

All-rounder took six wickets for 44 in home side's 61-run loss against Bangladesh

The UAE's Dhruv Parashar, who finished with figures of 6 for 44, is congratulated by teammates after taking a wicket in his side's 61-run defeat to Bangladesh in the ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup 2023 Group B match at the ICC Academy Ground, Dubai, UAE on December 9, 2023. All photos: ACC

Ashiqur Rahaman Shibli of Bangladesh plays a shot on his way to top scoring with 71 against the UAE.

UAE captain Aayan Afzal Khan celebrates after taking the wicket of Jishan Alam of Bangladesh.

Jishan Alam of Bangladesh runs between the wickets on his way to a score of 42 against the UAE.

UAE captain Aayan Afzal Khan bowls against Bangladesh.

Jishan Alam of Bangladesh plays a shot.

Dhruv Parashar of the UAE celebrates after taking a wicket.

Ashiqur Rahaman Shibli of Bangladesh hits out.

Ammar Badami of the UAE celebrates the wicket of Rizwan Chowdhury of Bangladesh.

Rizwan Chowdhury of Bangladesh in action.

Aayan Afzal Khan of the UAE reacts after unsuccessful appeal.

UAE captain Aayan Afzal Khan with Bangladesh skipper Mahfuzur Rahman before the game.

Mahfuzur Rahman, captain of Bangladesh, and UAE skipper Aayan Afzal Khan during the toss.

Dhruv Parashar insists the UAE can still make the semi-finals of the Under-19 Asia Cup despite having passed up a golden opportunity to scalp a Test-playing nation.

The national team went down to a 61-run loss to Bangladesh in their opening fixture of the pool stage at the ICC Academy on Saturday.

Parashar had helped put them into a fine position to cause an upset. The off-spin bowling all-rounder took six for 44 as the host nation bowled Bangladesh out for 228 with three balls still to play in their 50 overs.

A scruffy display in the later overs meant that was somewhat more than the UAE might have been chasing. It appeared gettable as the top order reached 74 for two in the early phase of the reply.

A collapse that saw them lose four wickets for 17 proved seminal, though, and the home team could only manage 167 before they were bowled out.

“This was a very good opportunity that we had to beat a Test-playing nation,” Parashar said.

“We did very well to restrict them and then made a good start to our innings. It was all set up for us to cause an upset but unfortunately we weren’t able to execute our batting properly and we fell short.

“But there are only lessons to take from this game. We have to get ready for the next game and I think we have a very good chance of making the semi-finals.

“The next game is against Sri Lanka, so we have to go to the nets tomorrow and get prepped and ready for that, and this time finish the game off.”

Parashar said it was “a special feeling” to take six wickets. He had taken four against the West Indies in a winning cause in the U19 World Cup last year.

He said he was disappointed this haul was in a losing cause, and he pointed to missed opportunities with the bat as the cause.

“[Four] of our guys got scores of 20-plus today," he said. "Against any good opposition, you have to convert those starts because not everybody gets starts.

“Against a good team you can get a good ball and be dismissed, but when you get a good start, to make a difference you have to capitalise and play that long innings.

“No matter what the situation, we shouldn’t be struggling to play 50 overs. We all need to value our wickets more. We all are young, and there are only lessons to take from here.

“We are a very talented team and we have the chance to beat these Test-playing nations. We just need to capitalise on the starts in both batting and bowling.”

In the other match of the day, Sri Lanka dominated Japan. They won with the best part of 38 overs to spare after bowling Japan out for 75.