XAVIER VOIGT-HILL: Successes like this do not happen overnight, and the Tigers tripped up their flashier opponents by learning from mistakes and standing up as one when it mattered
In our tournament preview episode of The Cricketer's Cricket Club, we highlighted Bangladesh as a real contender for tournament success after an impressive string of displays.
However, a lingering concern with the side throughout their trip to England last summer was a somewhat lax attitude in the field, and a killer instinct seemed to be the biggest piece missing from the puzzle as they fell by six wickets to India in the tri-series final in Hove.
Fast forward a little over a month and the teams met again, this time with the Asia Cup trophy on the line in Colombo. All certainly looked like it was going to plan at the second attempt, as India slipped to 8 for 3 to the new ball wielder Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, and were eventually bowled for 106, but Akash Singh (3-12) and Atharva Ankolekar (5-28) responded in kind and held on for a five-run win.
But why should today not have simply followed the same trend?
Since the conclusion of the 2018 tournament, today's game was the 149th official Youth ODI fixture. No fewer than 70 of those have involved at least one of India or Bangladesh, and yet India have fielded 54 players in that time to Bangladesh's 25.
And this is not merely a case of frantic experimentation leading to a natural core, as a look at the precise XIs fielded by each side in those recent finals demonstrates. Nine Bangladesh players have been through the mill in all three, and the only reason Mrittunjoy Chowdhury missed out this time around is because his tournament ended with a shoulder injury. For India, the equivalent number is three: Dhruv Chand Jurel, Tilak Varma and Sushant Mishra.
In this respect, it is entirely possible that India’s comically plentiful talent pool is working against it, with such a volume of players at Paras Mhambrey’s disposal meaning individuals get less time in the setup thanks to selection volatility.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, looked every ounce a professional team, and not just a crop of distinct talents. For all their strengths as a squad in recent there is no pedigree of success like this in the country’s cricket, but – their little middle-order wobble at the hands of a truly fine young leg-spinner aside – the side did not show it, instead having a simmering intensity to an impeccable fielding display, marshalled on field by the subtle gestures of Akbar Ali behind the stumps and off by the vocal sideline passion of strength and conditioning coach Richard Stonier.
Shoriful Islam had a phenomenal impact throughout India's innings
Shoriful Islam was a particular difference-maker in the first innings, setting the tone from over one with piercing glares through Yashasvi Jaiswal and unnerving movement around his edge.
Only a man of his height could dream of taking the running leap he did to dismiss Tilak Varma on the perimeter fence, he drew a wicket from Jaiswal like blood from a stone, and dived at full length from his follow-through to run out Ravi Bishnoi to give his teammates a delicious tail to clean up. When it counted, he was there.
Akbar was like the quiet assassin of the tournament, batting once in the group stages for a total of five runs against Pakistan after letting his top order briskly handle matters against Scotland and Zimbabwe.
He learned his lesson and was not dismissed again, regardless of whether the situation needed another five to polish off a semi-final chase or 43 and a lifetime's supply of cool and stubbornness to etch his name into his country's folklore. Today's innings more than doubled his run tally for the tournament. When it counted, he was there.
But, unlike India, this side was not about the individual successes. Attacking the tournament from an underdog position but with the well-oiled brilliance of a side twice their age and with lifetimes more experience has paid dutiful rewards – and there are 15 other countries in this World Cup who must surely be taking notes.
Throughout the tournament it has been difficult not to sympathise with young players going through moments of apparent chaos against the grain of the game, with fundamental skills seemingly abandoning them at pivotal moments under the World Cup pressure.
But typically that has involved the odd wide or two, or perhaps a rush of blood to the head seeing a ball fly into the sky off a leading edge. Today, with the trophy on the line, came two of its most bizarre situations.
Firstly, there was a run-out so peculiar it will certainly live long in the memories of anyone fortunate enough to have experienced it. With eight overs to play and your top-scorer gone, it is perfectly reasonable to try and sneak a few quick singles before leaving yourself too much to do at the death – or at least thought Dhruv Chand Jurel, India's gloveman.
Committing to a run that his partner had no interest in is certain to end in tears, but a photo finish at the wrong end as both batsman desperately fling their blades across the crease simultaneously is something to behold.
Or, as a venerable cricket magazine described it on Twitter, art.
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) February 9, 2020
Then came the peculiar case of Sushant Mishra, the Indian seamer who flourished during a tour of England last summer but has a strange habit of lobbing the odd head-high full toss.
Today he was penalised for them in both his first and second overs, though escaped a formal warning for the first one after prolific swing saw it instead arc towards slip and therefore not be deemed a "dangerous" delivery.
It is not the first time he has done this. In a tri-series final against the same opposition in Hove last August, questionable full-tosses came out of his hand in both the 29th and 40th overs of the day, and on that occasion he was promptly removed from the attack and banned from bowling for the day.
This time he was incredibly fortunate to escape such a punishment – and then return to not only dismiss Shamim Hossain (victim of Hove's second beamer) with the first ball of his second spell, but Avishek Das an over later. Outside of his errant ways, he was easily India's most convincing seamer, but this habit is certainly one he must iron out to make it anywhere in the professional arena.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's 400 runs made him an obvious player of the tournament
With his other five matches in World Cup cricket yielding three half-centuries, an unbeaten semi-final hundred and 29 not out in a five-over chase against Japan, it is fair to say that Indian left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal has a decent idea of what he’s doing at this level.
The 18-year-old has even been abnormally prolific in his fleeting List A career thus far, with a best of 203 and two other centuries to his name in Mumbai colours – so perhaps the remainder of the Indian lineup might have found his example a decent one to follow today.
Bangladesh opted to field, and Jaiswal had not a sense of urgency in his innings until he had passed the 50 mark once again.
His 121-ball innings kept India ticking along comfortably, with 39.5 overs passing before he fell and so too did India. While he was the fourth man to go, and India's beyond-patient scoring in the opening power play appeared to have steadied minds and nerves alike on the momentous occasion, not one player in the side could come close to making the same level of impact. It is no wonder he joins the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Aiden Markram, Tim Southee and Cheteshwar Pujara as player of the tournament.
Future Kings XI Punjab googly merchant Ravi Bishnoi came closest on an individual level, particularly in a blistering first spell today that saw Bangladesh slip from 50 without loss to 65 for 4, but even he seemed hindered by some hot-headed outbursts as umpires berated India's players for charging down the pitch demanding more wickets at seemingly every play and miss.
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