New Delhi. India A displayed a tremendous all-round game and defeated Afghanistan A by 101 runs and made it to the final of the ODI triangular series here on Wednesday. Thanks to the fifties of captain Tilak Verma, Priyansh Arya and Kumar Kushagra, India A scored 319 runs, then the bowlers together bowled out Afghanistan A for just 218 runs in 36.5 overs.
India A broke its two-match losing streak in the tournament and secured a place in the finals. With this win, India A reached the top of the points table with four points and the net run rate was also the best at 0.597. Sri Lanka A is also at the second position with four points, their net run rate is 0.494, while Afghanistan A is at the bottom with just two points and -1.602 net run rate. Afghanistan A will face Sri Lanka A on Friday and they need a big win to overtake the hosts.
Dominance of bowlers
Indian bowlers played a big role in India’s big victory. Nishant Sindhu was the best, he took 4 wickets in 6.5 overs, Yash Thakur took 2 wickets in 7 overs. Anshul Kamboj, Vipraj Nigam, Suryansh Shedge and Anukul Roy took one wicket each. For Afghanistan, Bahir Shah (57 runs, 52 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) and Faisal Shinozada (46) put up some struggle, but the rest of the batsmen did not take advantage of the start. With this victory, India A got two important points and the total became four points, the most important thing was that the team reached the finals after losing two consecutive matches.
Afghanistan’s batting fell apart
Thakur gave the first success to India A by dismissing Hasan Isakhail (14) in the third over, then in the sixth over, Kamboj dismissed Khalid Taniwal (13) and in the tenth over, Sindhu took the wicket of captain Imran Mir. Shinozada and Bahir took over Afghanistan’s innings by adding 87 runs for the fourth wicket, but both were out early and their team’s hopes were dashed. Earlier, Tilak (59), Kushagra (58) and Arya (58) took over the Indian innings when Afghanistan chose to bowl on a slow pitch.
Vaibhav failed, still the batsmen won the game
India added 75 runs in the beginning with Vaibhav Suryavanshi (38, 28 balls) and Arya. Suryavanshi hit some brilliant shots, but he was out on a bouncer. Arya made fifty in 29 balls, but due to aggressive play he was also out. As soon as the Delhi batsman was out, India A’s run rate dropped from 8 to 6. As the pitch slowed down, Tilak and vice-captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) found it difficult to score runs. Gaikwad unfortunately got caught out on the leg side. Tilak scored fifty in 67 balls, Kushagra scored a half-century in 60 balls, both added 104 runs for the fourth wicket. This helped India’s innings, but the run rate remained at five or a little more. Vipraj Nigam (30, 20 balls) played a short innings and took India beyond 300. Brief scores: India A: 319/9 (in 50 overs) (Tilak Verma 59, Priyansh Arya 58, Kumar Kushagra 58; Abdollah Ahmedzai 2/62) Afghanistan A: 218 (in 36.5 overs) (Faisal Shinozada 46, Bahir Shah 57; Nishant Sindhu 4/31, Yash Thakur 2/48) India A Won by 101 runs.
