All-Round India A Make Into Tri-Series Final After Crushing Afghanistan A By 101 Runs

A dominant all-round display saw India A crush Afghanistan A by 101 runs and book their place in the One-day tri-series final on Wednesday.

After piling up 319 for nine, built on fifties from skipper Tilak Varma, Priyansh Arya, and Kumar Kushagra, India A’s bowlers combined effectively to dismiss Afghanistan A for just 218 in 36.5 overs.

With this win, India A ended their two-match winless streak in the tournament and secured a berth in Sunday’s final. The result lifted them to the top of the points table with four points and the best Net Run Rate of 0.597 among the three teams.

Sri Lanka A also have four points but sit second with an NRR of 0.494, while Afghanistan A remain at the bottom with only two points and a Net Run Rate of -1.602.

Afghanistan

A, who face Sri Lanka A here on Friday in the final round-robin game, will therefore need a huge victory to overtake the hosts.

Nishant Sindhu was the standout bowler, returning figures of 4/31 from 6.5 overs, while pacer Yash Thakur took 2/48 from seven overs. Anshul Kamboj, Vipraj Nigam, Suryansh Shedge and Anukul Roy chipped in with one wicket each.

For Afghanistan, Bahir Shah (57 off 52 balls; 4 fours, 1 six) and Faisal Shinozada (46) offered some resistance, but most of their batters failed to build on their starts. The win gave India A two vital points to take their tally to four and, more importantly, propelled them into the summit clash after defeats in their previous two matches.

Thakur struck the first blow for India A, removing Hassan Eisakhil (14) in the third over when the Afghan opener was caught by Ruturaj Gaikwad. The second wicket followed soon after, as No. 3 Khalid Taniwal fell to Kamboj for 13 in the sixth over, and skipper Imran Mir’s dismissal came in the 10th over, courtesy of Sidhu.

Shinozada and Bahir then added 87 for the fourth wicket to steady Afghanistan’s innings, but both were removed in quick succession, completely derailing the chase.

Earlier, Tilak (59), Kushagra (58) and Arya (58) anchored India’s innings after Afghanistan opted to bowl on a sluggish Dambulla surface. India A made a rapid start, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (38, 28b) and Arya putting on 75 for the first wicket in just eight overs.

Sooryavanshi once again looked promising, unfurling some trademark strokes through the covers and hitting a couple of sixes. But the left-hander fell familiarly — attempting to pull a bouncer outside off-stump from pacer Faridoon Dawoodzai, who cramped the 15-year-old for room.

Arya, however, appeared assured at the crease, reaching his fifty in just 29 balls. His ultra-aggressive approach, though, led to his downfall when a square cut off Farmanullah was taken at point by Shams Ur Rahman.

The Delhi left-hander’s dismissal also shifted the tempo of the India A innings, with the run-rate dipping from over 8 to just above 6. As the innings wore on, the pitch slowed down noticeably, and both Tilak, in particular, and his deputy Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) struggled to maintain the early momentum.

Gaikwad was unfortunate to be given out caught behind down the leg side by wicketkeeper Mohammad Ishaq off Abdollah Ahmadzai (2/62). Tilak, who reached his fifty in 67 balls, and Kushagra, who brought up his half-century in 60 balls, put on 104 for the fourth wicket.

Their stand stabilised India A, though the scoring rate often hovered around or just above five an over. Vipraj Nigam’s late cameo eventually pushed India past the 300-run mark.

Brief Scores:

India A: 319/9 in 50 overs (Tilak Varma 59, Priyansh Arya 58, Kumar Kushagra 58; Abdollah Ahmadzai 2/62)

Afghanistan A: 218 in 36.5 overs (Faisal Shinozada 46, Bahir Shah 57; Nishant Sindhu 4/31, Yash Thakur 2/48) by 101 runs.

(With PTI Inputs)