Cricket: Bangladesh and India engage in scuffle after U19 World Cup wraps up

India and Bangladesh players clash. Photo / Twitter

An on-field war of words has soured the end of the U19 World Cup, which saw Bangladesh take down cricketing big wigs India at the tournament's final in Potchefstroom.

A spat of rain saw the players leave the field with Bangladesh on 163 for seven. When they returned the target had been adjusted under DLS to 170 from 46 overs.

Bangladesh needed seven from 30 balls and Akbar and Rakibul Hasan duly knocked off the runs to claim Bangladesh's first World Cup at any level.

But when the teams approached the middle strip for a post-match handshake, things turned a little ugly.

Jeers appeared to fly as Bangladesh players paraded with flags, prompting an Indian player to advance aggressively and be held back by the umpires.

The two sides were forced apart by officials, but the jawing continued as they slowly made their way off the field.

Shoving ensued before the teams were dragged apart and eventually Bangladesh went on to celebrate their historic win with fans.

The so called gentlemen game. The issue started with Bhishnoi sledging to Bangla player BUT it didn't end well.#CWCU19 #IndvsBan #BANvIND #IndiaVsBangladesh #U19WC #CWC19 #U19CWC #U19CWC2020 #Bangladesh #India pic.twitter.com/BnRYddFHLo

— Captain ZAK (@i_captainzak) February 9, 2020

Is that a FIGHT between the players after Bangladesh hit the winning run?! #U19CWCFinal

— Mendra Dorjey Sahni (@MendraDorjey) February 9, 2020

The post-match brawl was apparently more interesting than the match in itself. Will we ever get to see those visuals? #U19CWCFinal

— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) February 9, 2020

What officially triggered the ugly spat isn't known, but Bangladesh skipper and player of the match Akbar Ali apologised following the game for the ugly scenes.

"It's purely hard work. Some of our bowlers were emotional and were pumped up. What happened after the game was unfortunate," Ali said.

Cross checked the stump-mic audio when Bangladesh got the winning run. You can clearly make out the choicest abuses

— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) February 9, 2020

Despite the mayhem that ensued, Bangladesh revelled in their historic victory. Capturing the country's first cricket world cup victory at any level.

"It's an unbelievable experience," said Rakibul Hasan who hit the winning run. "We came here with plans and it worked out really well. Whichever team executes their plans better on the day wins, and that happened for us today."

Incredible scenes as Bangladesh celebrate their first ever U19 World Cup title!!#U19CWC | #INDvBAN | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/OI2PXU7Eqw

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 9, 2020