India A defeated Shaheens by eight wickets in their final group match of the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday.
This was Shaheens’ first defeat in the eight-team tournament. Shaheens will now feature in the first semi-final against Sri Lanka A on Friday at the P Sara Oval, while India A will take on Bangladesh A in the second semi-final on the same day at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
In today’s match, after opting to bat first, Shaheens lost wickets at regular intervals and were reeling at 95 for six before Qasim Akram and Mubasir Khan got together and stitched a 53-run partnership for the seventh wicket. After the departure of Mubasir (28, 38b, 4x4s), left-handed Mehran Mumtaz joined Qasim and the duo knitted 43 runs for the eighth wicket before Qasim returned back to the hut top-scoring for his side with a 63-ball 48, hitting five fours.
Shaheens were dismissed for 205 in 48 overs with Mehran returning undefeated on 25 off 26 balls, which included one four and a six.
For India A, Rajvardhan Hangargekar was the most successful bowler taking five wickets for 42 in eight overs. Manav Suthar bagged three wickets for 36 in 10 overs.
In return, India A achieved the target in 36.4 overs on the back of an unbeaten 104 from opening batter Sai Sudharsan. Sudharsan’s innings included 10 fours and three sixes which came off 110 balls. Nikin Jose was the other significant contributor with the bat, scoring a 64-ball 53, which included seven boundaries.
Scores in brief:
India A beat Shaheens by eight wickets
Pakistan Shaheens 205 all out, 48 overs (Qasim Akram 48, Sahibzada Farhan 35, Mubasir Khan 28, Haseebullah 27, Mehran Mumtaz 25 not out; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 5-42, Manav Suthar 3-36)
India A 210-2, 36.4 overs (Sai Sudharsan 104 not out, Nikin Jose 53, Yash Dhull 21 not out)
Player of the match – Sai Sudharsan (India A)
