India A's campaign in the ACC T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 came to an end on Friday with a 20-run defeat against Afghanistan A in the semi-finals.
India A bow out of Emerging Asia Cup with defeat against Afghanistan A in semifinal
Afghanistan A, batting first, set a challenging target of 207 runs, thanks to half-centuries from Zubaid Akbari and Sediqullah Atal. India A's chase fell short, despite a valiant effort from Ramandeep Singh, who scored a quickfire 64 runs off 34 balls.
Afghanistan A, after winning the toss, got off to a solid start with openers Zubaid Akbari and Sediqullah Atal. The pair built a strong partnership, scoring 137 runs in just 14 overs.
India A's bowlers struggled to contain the Afghan openers, with Aaqib Khan and Deepak Chahar conceding runs freely. Akbari was eventually dismissed for 64, but Atal continued to score aggressively, reaching 83 runs. Karim Janat also contributed a quickfire 41 runs.
Rasikh Salam provided a much-needed breakthrough for India A, dismissing both Atal and Rasooli in the 18th over. Afghanistan A finished their innings at 206/4.
India A needed a strong start to chase down the imposing target set by Afghanistan A. However, their openers, Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh, were dismissed early by Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar.
India A's struggles continued as Tilak Varma was also dismissed in the powerplay, leaving the team at 48/3.
Ayush Badoni and Nehal Wadhera attempted to rebuild the innings, but their partnership was broken when Wadhera was run out. Badoni also departed shortly after, leaving India A in a difficult position.
Ramandeep Singh's quickfire 34-ball 64 in vain
Ramandeep Singh's blistering knock brought India A back into the game after a shaky start. He scored a quickfire half-century, forming crucial partnerships with Nishant Sindhu.
Despite Ramandeep's heroics, India A still faced a challenging task of scoring 38 runs off the final two overs. However, Karim Janat's tight bowling in the penultimate over, conceding only eight runs, put Afghanistan A in a strong position. In the final over, Ramandeep managed to hit two boundaries, but Abdul Rahman defended well, restricting India A to 186/7. With this victory, Afghanistan A have qualified for the final of the ACC T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup for the first time. They will face Sri Lanka A, the two-time champions, in the final.
