Clinical India A reach tri-series final, beat Afghanistan A by 101 runs
Dambulla, June 17
Half-centuries from Priyansh Arya, Tilak Varma and Kumar Kushagra and an all-round show from Nishant Sindhu helped India A beat Afghanistan A by 101 runs, sealing them a spot in the finals of the tri-nation series.
Heading into the match, India was under pressure, having won just one and losing two. However now, they have got themselves a spot in finals, with the Sri Lanka A vs Afghanistan A confirming the second finalist on Friday.
Afghanistan A won the toss and opted to bowl first. Priyansh started off strongly with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (38 in 28 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes), but the latter could not get to a big score and 75-run stand broken.
After Arya (58 in 32 balls, with nine fours and a six) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (30 in 31 balls, with four boundaries) were dismissed, Tilak (59 in 75 balls, with five fours) and Kushagra (58 in 67 balls, with five fours) stitching an 104-run stand.
Down the order, Nishant (21* in 26) and Vipraj Nigam (30 in 20 balls, with four boundaries) scored valuable cameos, taking India to 319/8.
Faridoon Dawoodzai, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Farmanullah Safi took two wickets.
During the chase, Afghanistan was restricted to 70/3, but an 87-run stand between Faisal Shinozada (46 in 56 balls, with two fours and a six) and Bahir Shah (57 in 52 balls, with four boundaries and a six) helped Afghanistan fight back.
It was not meant to be for Afghanistan as Sindhu (4/31) and Yash Thakur (2/48) helped India restrict them to 218 in 36.5 overs.
Anshul Kamboj, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj and Anukul Roy also got a wicket, with Sindhu given the 'Player of the Match' award.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Priyansh Arya's 58 off 32 was absolutely electric! That's the kind of intent we want to see. Afghanistan gave a good fight though - Bahir Shah and Faisal Shinozada's partnership had me worried for a bit. India's depth in domestic cricket is really showing 💪
Solid performance but Ruturaj Gaikwad's form is a concern - only 30 runs. We need our senior players to step up in these pressure games. Happy to see Kumar Kushagra getting among runs though, future star in the making! 🇮🇳
Impressive depth in Indian cricket! Even their A team can post 319 and bowl out a strong Afghanistan side. The way Nishant Sindhu bowled in the middle overs was quality. Looking forward to the final against Sri Lanka A - should be a cracker! 🏏
Credit to Afghanistan for fighting back after being 70/3 - that partnership showed character. But India's bowling attack was too good today. Vipraj Nigam's cameo of 30 off 20 was also crucial lower down the order. Ab India final mein kya karega? 👀
Good win but we need to address the middle-order collapses we've had earlier. Batting depth saved us today but against stronger sides, 319 might not be enough. Still, proud of the boys for bouncing back after losing two games! 🏏🎉
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