Afghans shock India, storm into Emerging Asia Cup final

Ramandeep Singh's valiant half-century went in vain as Afghanistan A put up a clinical display to defeat India A by 20 runs and set up a summit clash against Sri Lanka A in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup T20 tournament in Oman on Friday.

Opting to bat first, Afghanistan A capitalized on a commanding 137-run opening partnership between Sediqullah Atal (83 off 52 balls) and Zubaid Akbari (64 off 41 balls) to post the tournament's highest total, reaching 206/4.

In response, India A struggled, losing half their lineup by the 13th over before Ramandeep launched a spirited fightback with Nishant Sindhu, building an exhilarating 68-run stand in just 31 balls.

With India needing 53 runs from the last three overs, the momentum swung as Nishant (23 off 13 balls) was run out following a miscommunication.

Tasked with defending 30 runs in the final over, Abdul Rahman (2/32) held his nerve, dismissing Ramandeep on the last delivery and restricting India to 186/7, sealing Afghanistan's place in the summit clash.

Dushan Hemantha's four-wicket haul and Ahan Wickramasinghe's sensational fifty sealed Sri Lanka A spot in the final and brought an end to defending champions Pakistan A campaign to its unforeseen conclusion in the first semi-final match of the ACC Men's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024.

Sri Lanka left Pakistan bamboozled with their blitzkrieg and relentless onslaught while chasing a paltry target of 136. Despite losing opener Yashodha Lanka after he obstructed the field, Lahiru Udara and Ahan Wickramasinghe went berserk in the powerplay.

Boundaries came according to their will, and the defending champions looked clueless in their attempts to put a halt to Sri Lanka's high-flying inning.

Fours and sixes became a constant theme in the powerplay as the duo shared the brunt of piling up runs on the board. The 66-run partnership between the duo was enough to take the game away from Pakistan.

The defending champions eventually got their breakthrough in the 9th over after Udara's shot was taken comfortably by Abdul Samad.

With left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem providing the much-needed breakthrough, Pakistan made another push to make a late comeback in the game.

Boundaries became scarce in the next two overs, forcing the pair to gamble on their shots in quest for boundaries. Nuwanidu Fernando took the mantle and sent the ball towards the boundary rope to ease off the nerves.

On the next delivery, Abbas Afridi stung back and ended Fernando's time on the crease. The flow of boundaries became dry, but Sri Lanka didn't break a sweat with the equation completely favouring them.

Wickramasinghe finished the inning with an unbeaten 52 and ensured that Sri Lanka ended on the winning side.

Earlier in the match, Pakistan A won the toss and opted to bat, which eventually backfired on them. Pakistan lost Yasir Khan (2) early in the powerplay, but captain Mohammad Haris and Omair Yousuf kept the tempo high.

With the duo on the crease, Pakistan looked well set to end the powerplay on a high note. But Eshan Malinga swung the momentum in Sri Lanka's favour in the final over of the powerplay.

He castled Haris (6) on the second ball and showed Qasim Akram (0) the way to the dugout on the final ball of the powerplay.

Yousuf and Haider Ali tried to steer Pakistan's sinking ship from that point, and they fared well up to a certain extent. With the climax of the first inning approaching, the duo started to show shades of opening their arms.

Haider came down the track, missed the ball completely and was stumped in the 13th over bowled by Dushan Hemantha.

With wickets falling at one end, Yousuf tried to drive Pakistan's inning from the other. Hemantha wasn't in the mood to allow Pakistan to run away with the game.

He dismissed Arafat Minhas for 10 and Abdul Samad for a four-ball duck, leaving Pakistan tottering a103/6. Hemantha continued to stamp his authority in the game and drew the last straw.

He removed set-batter Yousuf (68) in his final over to ensure Pakistan were forced to defend a sub-par total. A couple of boundaries from Abbas Afridi towards the tail end propelled Pakistan's score to 135/9.