After a defeat in their first encounter in Under-19 triangular series, India B defeated Afghanistan by two wickets with 11 balls to spare despite a batting collapse on November 26. At BCCI's Centre of Excellence Ground 1, Vedant Trivedi's 83-run knock, BK Kishore and Deepesh Devendran's unbeaten 37-run partnership helped India B get over the line and register their first win of the series. It is also Afghanistan’s first defeat of the series.
Afghanistan lose half the side cheaply
Earlier, India B skipper Aaron George won the toss and opted to field first. Devendran and Rohit Das struck early with the new ball, dismissing Osman Sadat and Faisal Shinozada respectively. Left-arm spinner Kishore knocked over opener Khalid Ahmadzai for a 39-ball 18. Then he got the wickets of skipper Mahboob Khan and Azizullah Miakhil as well. Afghanistan lost half the side for 78 in the 25th over.
Niazai misses ton, Afghanistan set a target of 203
Uzairullah Niazai continued to play the anchor role. He got to his half-century from 61 balls. Trivedi broke the partnership in the 33th over with Nazifullah Amiri's wicket. He scored 17 runs from 21 balls. Niazai missed out on a century as he got bowled by Arnav Bugga in the 44th over. He scored 96 runs from 107 deliveries, including nine fours and a six. Khatir Stanikzai and Abdul Aziz tried to play out the overs. Devendran and Das returned to dismiss both the batters. Afghanistan managed to post 202/9, playing out 50 overs. For India, Kishore turned out to be the pick of the bowlers, claiming three wickets for just 19 runs in his full quota of 10 overs. He bowled two maidens as well.
Collapse after a decent start
In the run chase, opener Yuvraj Gohil was the first to fall. He departed after scoring three runs from 14 balls. Skipper George and Trivedi tried to absorb the pressure and were not worried about the run rate. They shared a 74-run partnership which was broken by Amiri in the 23rd over. George fell for a 71-ball 42, featuring six fours. On the next over, he dismissed Anvay Dravid, son of legendary Rahul Dravid, for a golden duck. Stanikzai got into the act and he sent Rahul Kumar packing. Amiri struck again, dismissing Maulyarajsingh Chavda. Then, Salam Khan got the wicket of Bugga. India B were 115/6 in the 30th over.
Trivedi’s 83, lower order batters guide India B home
India B were in desperate need of a partnership. The required run rate was not an issue for them. Trivedi found the perfect partner in Kishore. Trivedi reached his fifty from 69 balls. As India B were cruising towards the target, there was another twist in the tale. In the 41st over, Stanikzai got the prized wicket of Trivedi. He departed after scoring 83 runs from 102 balls, including 11 boundaries. In the next over, Naman Pushpak lost his wicket to Aziz. Afghanistan were sniffing a win but Devendran launched a brutal counter attack. He hit two sixes and a four in his unbeaten run-a-ball 20. On the other end, Kishore remained unbeaten for a 50-ball 29 as India B achieved the target on the first ball of the penultimate over.
India B bowed out of the tournament with a win. Afghanistan will go up against India A on November 27 before taking them on the final on November 30.