Dambulla [Sri Lanka], June 11 (ANI): India A’s imposing total of 349 proved insufficient as Afghanistan A pulled off a stunning DLS victory in a rain-affected tri-series clash in Dambulla on Thursday, powered by a blazing opening partnership and authoritative knocks from captain Imran Mir and Bahir Shah.
Put in to bat first, India A overcame the conditions through an explosive start from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who struck 44 off just 22 deliveries to set the tone after Afghanistan opted to field.
Prabhsimran Singh carried the momentum forward with an attacking innings before missing out on a century, keeping India A in a strong position despite the early dismissal of Priyansh Arya.
The innings was then steadied by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma, who added 78 runs in a composed stand built on largely risk-free cricket, striking just eight boundaries between them to keep India A’s momentum intact.
Gaikwad, fresh off a century in the previous game, scored a fluent 66 off 80 deliveries, while skipper Tilak contributed 66 off 73 balls.
India A accelerated in the closing stages through Suryansh Shedge’s quickfire 40 off 27 balls. Handy contributions from Anukul Roy and Vipraj Nigam further boosted the total as India surged past the 300-run mark to post a commanding 349 for 9 in their revised 49-over innings.
Afghanistan A’s Abdullah Ahmadzai was the standout bowler, claiming a five-wicket haul and striking at crucial intervals in the death overs to prevent India A from finishing with an even bigger total.
Chasing a revised target of 294 in 38 overs after further rain interruptions, Afghanistan A began aggressively. Hassan Eisakhil scored 34 and shared a rapid 63-run opening stand with captain Imran Mir, as the chase raced along at nearly eight runs an over in the Powerplay.
Although Arshad Khan and Anukul Roy struck back by removing Eisakhil and Khalid Taniwal respectively, India A were unable to sustain pressure through the middle overs.
Imran Mir then anchored the innings with a composed yet positive knock, reaching 75 off 69 deliveries, while Bahir Shah counterattacked fluently to bring up a half-century. The duo stitched together a century-plus partnership for the third wicket, steadily taking Afghanistan A ahead of the DLS par score.
With dark clouds gathering once again, Afghanistan reached 173 for 2 in 25.5 overs when heavy rain forced the players off the field.
At that stage, they were three runs ahead of the DLS target, and with conditions preventing any further play, Afghanistan were declared winners by the DLS method. (ANI)
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