Chasing UAE ‘A’ meagre target of 108 for a win, India ‘A’ cruised home with seven wickets in hand and 55 balls to spare in the ongoing ACC Men's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 Group B match that was played at Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on Monday night. The second win on a trot in as many games, having beaten arch rivals rivals Pakistan by seven runs in the opener, saw them book a place in the semifinals.

All-rounder Abhishek Sharma scored a scintillating half-century off mere 20 balls laced with six boundaries and three sixes) upfront as an opener in the company of his skipper Tilak Varma to set the stage for an early finish. The duo added 73 runs off 38 balls, before Tilak (21) was castled by Vishnu Sukumaran in the 8^th over, Abhishek (58 of 24 balls) too fell in the very next over, before Ayush Badoni completed the formality of chasing down a target with a six and four in the 11^th over.

Opting to bat first, UAE were off to a poor start and lost both openers their openers Mayank Kumar (10) and Aryansh Sharma (1) -- inside the first two overs. Seamer Rasikh Salam bowled a fiery spell and accounted for three batters in his opening over, reducing UAE to 40 for 5 inside the power play.

Rahul Chopra (50 off 50 balls) and UAE skipper Basil Hameed (22 off 12 balls) 41-run partnership for the sixth wicket ensured their teams recovery, before Abhishek broke the partnership, getting the later caught off his own bowling. Ramandeep Singh (2/7) twin strike soon after saw India bundled out UAE for 107 in 16.5 overs.

Salam (3/15) was adjudged the Player of the Match. India next take on hosts Oman in their final group game.

Earlier India ‘A’ opened their campaign with a narrow seven runs win against Pakistan ‘A’ last weekend.  

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, the Men in Blue posted a competitive target of 184 for a win, after scoring 68 for no loss at the end of the power play . Skipper Tilak Varma top-scored with 44 off 35 which included two boundaries and as many sixes before perishing in the 19th over. Prabhsimran Singh (36 off 19) and Vice-captain Abhishek Sharma (35 off 22) were the other major contributor in India’s score of 183 for 8 in 20 overs.

Left arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem (2/28) was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan. He was well supported by fellow miserly spinners Arafat Minhas,  Qasim Akram and pacers Mohammad Imran and Zaman Khan who accounted for a wicket each

In response Pakistan A lost their two top order batters to 23 year old pacer  Anshul Kamboj (3/33) for mere 21 runs. Opener Yasir Khan (33) and Qasim Akram (27) staged a recovery with their 54 runs partnership for the third wicket, before both were dismissed in quick succession by all-rounder Nishant Sindhu who was part of India's title-winning squad in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup.  India's however staged a remarkable comeback to snatch a well-deserved victory in the end despite Arafat Minhas 41 off 29 balls

Brief Scores (Group B League Phase):

UAE ‘A’ – 107 all in 16.5 overs (Rahul Chopra 50 (50b: 2x4s, 3x6s), Basil Hameed 22 (12b: 1x4s, 2x6s), Mayank Kumar 10 (5b: 1x4s, 1x6); Rasikh Salam 3/15, Ramandeep Singh 2/7, Abhishek Sharma 1/0, Nehal Wadhera 1/0, Vaibhav Arora 1/8, Anshul Kamboj 1/17) lost to India ‘A’ – 111 for 3 in 10.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma  58 (24b: 6x4s, 4x6s) Tilak Varma 21 (18b: 2x4s, 1x6), Ayush Badoni 12* (9b: 1x4s, 1x6), Nehal Wadhera  6* (8b); Vishnu Sukumaran 1/10, Muhammad Farooq 1/ 16, Omid Shafi Rahman 1/32) by seven wickets and 9.1 overs to spare. Player of the Match: Rasikh Salam (India ‘A’)

Photo Cover: Twenty four year old pace maestro Rasikh Salam fiery spell which included yielded three UAE wickets in his opening over inside powerplay saw him win the Player of the Match award (Photo courtesy ACC)

Photo Above: India ‘A’ team led by Tilak Varma (3^rd from Right) enjoy each other success on field (Photo courtesy BCCI)