Ramandeep Singh’s valiant half-century went in useless as Afghanistan A put up a medical show to defeat India A by 20 runs and arrange a summit conflict towards Sri Lanka A within the Rising Groups Asia Cup T20 event, right here on Friday.
Opting to bat first, Afghanistan A capitalised on a commanding 137-run opening partnership between Sediqullah Atal (83 off 52 balls) and Zubaid Akbari (64 off 41 balls) to put up the event’s highest whole, reaching 206/4.
Afghanistan A ended the powerplay on a excessive, amassing 20 runs within the sixth over to succeed in 61 with out loss, as Zubaid and Sediqullah dismantled the Indian bowling assault.
Pacer Rasikh Salam then delivered an inspiring death-over spell, claiming three essential wickets, together with two in consecutive balls, to stymie Afghanistan’s scoring surge.
In contrast to Afghanistan A, India A suffered a jittery begin and misplaced three wickets contained in the powerplay to go away its chase in disarray.
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Allah Mohammed Ghazanfar accounted for Abhishek Sharma (7) and Prabhsimran Singh (19) whereas skipper Tilak Varma (16) fell to Abdul Rahman to scale back India to 48/3 in 5.4 overs.
Ayush Badoni (31; 24b) and Nehal Wadhera (20; 14b) then stored the scoreboard ticking earlier than Afghanistan once more triggered a collapse.
India A misplaced half its lineup by the thirteenth over earlier than Ramandeep launched a spirited fightback with Nishant Sindhu, constructing an exhilarating 68-run stand in simply 31 balls.
With India needing 53 runs from the final three overs, the momentum swung as Nishant (23 off 13 balls) was run out following a miscommunication.
Tasked with defending 30 runs within the remaining over, Abdul Rahman (2/32) held his nerve, dismissing Ramandeep on the final supply and limiting India to 186/7, sealing Afghanistan’s place within the summit conflict.
Sri Lanka beats Pakistan by seven wickets
Within the first semifinal, Sri Lanka A put up a splendid bowling present to limit Pakistan Shaheens to a modest 135/9 earlier than cruising to a seven-wicket win. It chased down the goal in 16.3 overs.
Leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha was the architect of its win, returning with 4/21, whereas Nipun Ranskika and Eshan Malinga bagged two every.
Transient Scores:
Afghanistan A 206/4; 20 overs (Sediqullah Atal 83, Zubaid Akbari 64, Karim Janat 41; Rasikh Salam 3/25) bt India A 186/7; 20 overs (Ramandeep Singh 64) by 20 runs.