India A defeated Afghanistan A by 101 runs in Dambulla on Wednesday thanks to a strong all-around effort, increasing their prospects of advancing to the tri-series final.
With captain Tilak Varma, Priyansh Arya, and Kumar Kushagra riding on fifties to accumulate 319 for nine, Afghanistan A was bundled out for just 218 in 36.5 overs by India A bowlers who put on a cohesive display.
The best bowler was Nishant Sindhu, who took 4/31 from his 6.5 overs, while pacer Yash Thakur registered 2/48 from his seven overs. Anukul Roy, Vipraj Nigam, Suryansh Shedge, and Anshul Kamboj each took one wicket.
Although Faisal Shinozada (46) and Bahir Shah (57 off 52 balls; 4 fours, 1 six) offered some resistance, the most of their batters were unable to convert their starts.
The triumph not only broke their two-match losing streak, India A also reached the final as their points tally increased to four.
The first breakthrough for India A came from Thakur, who dismissed Hassan Eisakhil (14) in the third over after Ruturaj Gaikwad caught the Afghan A opener. No. 3 Khalid Taniwal was dismissed for 13 by Kamboj in the sixth over, and captain Imran Mir was removed by Sidhu in the tenth over, and the Indians did not have to wait long for the second wicket.
Afghanistan’s innings was stabilized by Shinozada and Bahir’s 87 for the fourth wicket, but their chase was totally derailed when they were both dismissed quickly after.
Earlier, Afghanistan chose to bowl on a fairly slow Dambulla wicket, and Tilak (59), Kushagra (58), and Arya (58) led the Indian run charge. With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (38, 28b) and Arya scoring 75 runs for the first wicket in just eight overs, India got off to a fast start.
Once again, Sooryavanshi made a lot of promises, hitting a few sixes and some of his signature covers. However, the 15-year-old left-hander was squeezed for space by pacer Faridoon Dawoodzai as he attempted to draw a bouncer outside the off-stump.
However, Arya appeared at ease in the middle and reached 50 in just 29 balls. But because of his extreme aggression, Farmanullah was dismissed when Shams Ur Rahman took a square cut off of him. The India A innings’ tempo also changed after the Delhi left-hander was removed, with the run-rate falling from over 8 to just over 6.
The deck clearly slowed down as the innings went on because Tilak and Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) struggled to maintain the early enthusiasm.
Gaikwad was unlucky to be adjudged caught behind by stumper Mohammad Ishaq off Abdollah Ahmadzai (2/62). 104 runs were added for the fourth wicket by Tilak, who hit his 50 in 67 balls, and Kushagra, who achieved his half-century in 60 balls.
India A was stabilized, but they frequently scored less than five or just over five per over. Vipraj Nigam (30, 20b) helped India surpass 300 runs.
