MUSQAT – India A beat Pakistan Shaheens by seven runs in the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams T20 Asia Cup 2024 match at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on Saturday night.
Chasing a challenging 184-run target, Shaheens scored 176-7 in 20 overs as Arafat Minhas top-scored with 41 off 29 balls.
Shaheens lost skipper Mohammad Haris on the second ball after he smacked a six on the first ball. After Omair Bin Yousuf departed for two, with 21 runs on the board in 2.3 overs, Yasir Khan (33, 22b, 1×4, 3x6s) and Qasim Akram (27, 21b, 4x4s) stitched a 54-run third-wicket stand to put Shaheens back on track.
After Yasir fell to an outstanding catch by Ramandeep Singh on the boundary leaving the Shaheens 75-3 in 8.1 overs, Qasim departed in the same over. Arafat, who walked in to bat at No. 5, hit five fours and one six to help the Shaheens stay in the hunt for the chase while also putting on a 48-run stand with Haider Ali (9, 15b).
Haider’s departure in the 15th over brought Abdul Samad to the crease, who hit two fours and two sixes in 15-ball 25 to put the India ‘A’ bowlers under pressure. Shaheens required 24 off the last two overs which was then reduced to 17 in the previous over before Samad holed to Abhishek Sharma on the first ball of the 20th over.
Mohammad Abbas Afridi remained unbeaten for 18 off nine balls hitting four boundaries, two of which came in the last over yet the Shaheens fell seven runs short. Anshul Kamboj (3-33), Nishant Sindhu (2-15) and Rasikh Salam (2-30) were the top bowlers for India ‘A’.
Earlier, after India ‘A’ won the toss and opted to bat first, the opening batters, Prabhsimran Singh (36, 19b, 3x4s, 3x6s) and Abhishek Sharma (35, 22b, 5x4s, 2x6s) cruised to a 68-run opening partnership which Sufiyan Moqim broke on the first ball after the powerplay.
Sufiyan also accounted for the No.4 batter, Nehal Wadhera (25, 22b, 2x4s, 1×6) in the 14th over as Shaheens only gave away 54 runs between overs 6 and 15.
Tilak Verma (44, 35b, 2x4s, 2x6s) anchored India ‘A’ innings during his 12.1 over stay on the crease while he also put on a vital 43-run fifth-wicket stand with Ramandeep (17, 11b, 1×4, 1×6) to help his team reach 183-8 in 20 overs.
Apart from Sufiyan’s 2-28, Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Qasim Akram and Zaman Khan picked up one wicket each.
Pakistan Shaheens will take on hosts Oman in their next match on Monday, 21 October.
