Ramandeep Singh’s brave half-century went in vain as Afghanistan A produced a clinical performance to beat India A by 20 runs and set up a summit clash against Sri Lanka A in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup T20 tournament here on Friday. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan A capitalized on a dominant opening partnership of 137 runs between Sediqullah Atal (83 off 52 balls) and Zubaid Akbari (64 off 41 balls) to post their highest total of the tournament, 206/4.
In response, India A struggled as they lost half their lineup and scored a thrilling 68 runs off just 31 balls until the 13th over before Ramandeep launched a fierce counterattack with Nishant Sindhu.
India needed 53 runs from the last three overs and the momentum shifted quickly when Nishant (23 off 13 balls) was dropped due to miscommunication.
Tasked with defending 30 runs in the final over, Abdul Rahman (2/32) mustered his courage to dismiss Ramandeep off the last delivery and restrict India to 186/7, sealing Afghanistan’s place in the summit clash.
In the first semi-final, Sri Lanka A put up a brilliant bowling show to secure a seven-wicket win after restricting Pakistan Shaheens to a modest 135/9. They chased down the target in 16.3 overs.
Leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha was the architect of the win on his comeback with 4/21, while Nipun Ranskika and Eshan Malinga scored twice each.
The final is scheduled for Sunday.
Afghanistan A ended the powerplay on a high, amassing 20 runs in the sixth over to score an unbeaten 61 as Zubaid and Sediqullah dismantled the Indian bowling attack.
Zubaid hammered four sixes and five fours while Sediqullah contributed four sixes and seven boundaries in a thrilling partnership.
After Zubaid’s dismissal, Karim Janat maintained the momentum with a quick 20-ball 41 featuring two sixes and four fours.
Pacer Rasikh Salam delivered a stirring death spell to halt Afghanistan’s scoring surge, taking three crucial wickets, including two in successive balls.
Rasikh bowled Sediqullah around his legs for the first time in the 18th over, and was immediately dragged for one by Darwish Rasooli (0) on his stumps.
Karim continued his onslaught but was finally dismissed by Rasikh in the second delivery, ending a thrilling innings.
Unlike Afghanistan A, India A got off to a shaky start and lost three wickets within the powerplay, throwing the chase into disarray.
Allah Mohammed Ghazanfar accounted for Abhishek Sharma (7) and Prabhsimran Singh (19) while skipper Tilak Varma (16) fell to Abdul Rahman to reduce India to 48/3 in 5.4 overs.
Ayush Badoni (31, 24b) and Nehal Wadhera (20, 14b) kept the scoreboard ticking before Afghanistan triggered another collapse.
Brief score: Afghanistan A 206/4; 20 overs (Sediqullah Atal 83, Zubaid Akbari 64, Karim Janat 41, Rasikh Salam 3/25) took India A to 186/7. 20 runs in 20 overs (Ramandeep Singh 64).
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
