India-A Beat Pakistan-A: India-A beat fierce rivals Pakistan-A by 7 runs in their opening fixture of the Emerging T20 Asia Cup 2024. Tilak Varma's side held their nerves until the final ball, as the match took an interesting turn with change of fortunes for the Men in Green, as their exploits in the latter phase of the chase did give a scare to Indian dugout.
With the win, India-A are now second in the group, behind UAE, who are in the first place due to superior Net Run Rate, and will next face the group toppers in a 'Top of the Table' clash on Monday, October 21.
India A vs Pakistan A, Emerging T20 Asia Cup 2024 | As It Happened
Electing to bat first, India A were off to a flying start as openers Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh took the side past the 60-run mark inside powerplay.
However, the first ball after the powerplay brought an end to the onslaught of Abhishek Sharma, who handed a soft dismissal off Sufiyan Muqeem, and was soon followed back to the pivilion by fellow opener Prabhsimran Singh in the very next over.
The SRH opener managed 35 off 22, whereas, the PBKS opener managed one run more than his compatriot in 19 balls, and with that, the onus of carrying the innings fell on Nehal Wadhera and skipper Tilak Varma.
The duo managed to score healthy individual scores of 25 and 44 respectively, but the scoring rate fell drastically and India A managed only 183/8 in their 20 overs.
Sufiyan Muqeem was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan-A, as he grabbed two wickets, but alongside that, he also managed to be the second-most economical bowler amongst those who bowled their full quota. His figures read 2/28 in 4 overs, and was complemented by Qasim Akram, who gave away only 20 runs in his 4 overs.
Apart from Yasir Khan, no other batter in Pakistan-A top-order managed to score rapidly, and the side was looking done and dusted, until the 14th over came, where Tilak Varma conceded 19 runs and gave Pakistan-A much-needed momentum.
Late exploits from Mohammad Abdul Samad and Arafat Minhas, alongside Abbas Afridi could not help the side cross the finishing line, as India-A restricted them at 176/7 in their 20 ovrs.