Afghanistan A defeated by four runs under the DLS method in the second match of the tri-series in Dambulla on Thursday. Chasing a revised score of 294 runs in 38 overs due to a rain interruption in the mid-innings break, the opening pair of captain Imran Mir and Hassan Eisakhil put on 53 runs for the first wicket. The former, one of the country’s best batting talents, paced his innings perfectly in the company of number four batsman Bahir Shah (51). The pair put on 112 runs for the third wicket, keeping Afghanistan A on course to victory.
The pair seemed ready to launch, but in the 26th over, the rains arrived, and at 177/2 after 25.5 overs, they were marginally ahead in the DLS par score by 3runs and, as a result, secured the win.
For India A, this was a missed opportunity with the ball. A revised target offered them a chance to make it two wins in two, especially after how they had secured a spirited win at the death in the tri-series opener.
The attack didn’t penetrate much with the new ball. Anshul Kamboj and Arshad Khan were expensive at the start before the latter provided the first breakthrough by removing Eisakhil for 36. And when left-arm spinner Anukul Roy trapped Khalid Taniwal for two a couple of overs later, India A appeared to be taking control of the game.
But Mir and Shah ensured there were no further dents, eventually doing just enough to clinch two points for their side.
Earlier, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set the ball rolling for India to post the huge total. The left-hander began with a boundary, creamed through covers, but during the course of his 22-ball 44, showed a different game than the explosive version he has shown in the .
While his knock didn’t include a single six, Sooryavanshi showed his game was not just about power. With Afghanistan A bowling to a strong off-side field and not offering enough room, he timed his shots through the gaps, with one of the one-the-up drives emerging as the standout shot.
His innings ended when he tried to upper cut a delivery that was too close to play as he took the edge and settled into the hands of the wicketkeeper.
With Priyansh Arya falling cheaply, Prabhsimran Singh and Ruturaj Gaikwad consolidated India. The Punjab opener, in particular, was the more aggressive of the two, stroking some delightful drives against the spinners.
He looked set for a century before he fell trying to play a paddle-scoop that took a faint edge to the keeper. That dismissal brought captain Tilak Varma to the middle. Having struggled in the previous outing to rotate the strike against spinners, he appeared to get into a shell again on Thursday. But every time he looked stuck, Afghanistan A provided him with a boundary ball. Gaikwad had only three boundaries to show in his 66 as he did the bulk of his scoring in singles and twos.
All-rounder Suryansh Shedge gave late momentum to the innings, which powered India A to the towering score.
Brief scores: India 349/9 (Prabhsimran 84, Gaikwad 66, Varma 66, Shedge 40; Ahmadzai 5/68) in 49 ovs lost to Afghanistan 177/2 in 25.5 ovs (Imran 75 n.o, Bahir 51) by four runs (DLS method).
