AL AMERAT: Sediqullah Atal and Zubaid Akbari scored brisk half-centuries as Afghanistan A stunned India A by 20 runs to qualify for the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 final.
Afghanistan captain Darwish Rasooli’s decision to bat first bore fruit as they racked up a massive total of 206/4 on the board.
Openers Atal and Akbari provided Afghanistan A a solid start to their innings and asserted dominance on India A bowlers as both scored half-centuries.
The duo had pushed Afghanistan’s total to 137 in 14 overs before Aaqib Khan finally broke the threatening partnership by dismissing Akbari.
Zubaid Akbari smashed five fours and four sixes on his way to a 41-ball 64.
Atal then joined forces with Karim Janat and made sure to keep the momentum in Afghanistan’s favour with a 44-run partnership, which lasted with his dismissal in the 18th over.
Atal remained the top-scorer for Afghanistan with a 52-ball 83, peppered with seven fours and four sixes.
Afghanistan then suffered another blow to their batting expedition when their captain Darwish Rasooli fell for a golden duck and brought the total down to 181/3 in 17.4 overs.
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Janat carried his bat until the final over and played a pivotal role in bolstering Afghanistan’s total with a quickfire 41 off 20 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes.
Rasikh Salam was the standout bowler for India A with three wickets, while Aaqib Khan made one scalp.
Chasing a daunting 207, India A managed to amass 186/7 in the allotted overs despite a fighting century down the order by Ramandeep Singh.
Singh came out to bat when India A were reeling at 80/4 in 10 overs, needing a further 127 runs in the remaining overs.
Ramandeep Singh fought valiantly until the end with a 34-ball 64, laced up with 10 boundaries but his efforts were not enough to steer India A to a miraculous entry.
Abdul Rahman and AM Ghazanfar bagged two wickets each for Afghanistan A, while Karim Janat took one.
The 20-run victory over India A, propelled Afghanistan A into the Emerging Asia Cup final where they will take on Sri Lanka A on Sunday.
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