A brilliant all-round performance by Afghanistan A guided them to the final of the ongoing ACC Emerging Asia Cup as they defeated India A by 20 runs at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) on Friday.
Afghanistan A will now face Sri Lanka A in the final of the competition on Sunday at the same ground. Chasing a mammoth total of 207 runs, the Tilak Varma-led side was reduced to just 186 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs.
The highest scorer for the side was Ramandeeop Singh who scored 64 runs off just 34 balls which was laced with eight boundaries and two maximums in his innings.
Ayush Badoni (31 runs off 24 balls, with 2 fours and 1 six), Nishant Sindhu (23 runs from 13 balls, with three fours), and Nehal Wadhera (20 runs in 14 balls, with three fours and a six) scored valuable knocks but they were not enough as their side ended up on the losing side.
For the Afghanistan side, two wickets each were snapped by Allah Ghazanfar and Abdul Rahman in their spells where they conceded 14 and 32 runs respectively. One wicket was bagged by Sharafuddin Ashraf in his spell of two overs where he gave away 13 runs.
Earlier in the day, Afghanistan A skipper Darwish Rasooli won the toss and elected to bat first. Batting first, the Afghanistan side scored 206 runs for the loss of four wickets in their 20 overs.
The highest scorer for the side was Sediquallah Atal who scored 83 runs off 52 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes in his innings. Zubaid Akbari also scored a valuable fifty for his team. He went back to the pavilion after scoring 64 runs from 41 balls which included five boundaries and four maximums in his innings.
For India, the pick of the bowler was Rasikh Salam who picked three wickets and conceded 25 runs in his spell of four overs. One wicket was taken by Aaqib Khan in his spell of four overs where he leaked 48 runs.
Brief Score: Afghanistan A 206/4 in 20 overs (Sediquallah Atal 83, Zubaid Akbari 64, Rasikh Salam 3/25) vs India A 186/7 in 20 overs (Ramandeep Singh 64, Ayush Badoni 31, Allah Ghazanfar 2/14) .