Courtesy: ACC
On Wednesday, October 23, India A defeated hosts Oman comprehensively by six wickets with 28 balls to spare in their third and final Group B clash of the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024. After restricting Oman to a below par total of 140/5 in their allotted 20 overs with a collective performance from the bowlers, a fifty from Ayush Badoni was key for India A to chase down the runs at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground Oman Cricket (Ministry Turf 1).
For the unversed, Jatinder Singh, the captain of Oman, won the toss and decided to bat first before he was one of the three top order batters to be dismissed cheaply in the power play stage by the India A bowlers. Following that, Wasim Ali (24 off 28) and Mohammad Nadeem (41 off 49) put together a vital 47-run stand for the fourth wicket, to bring Oman back into the contest.
During the fifth wicket partnership of 54 runs, wicket-keeper Hammad Mirza was the aggressor, scoring 28 runs off just 15 balls with one four and two maximums, while Mohammad Nadeem occupied the crease at the other end. Oman ended up with a 140-run total after five different Indian A bowlers picked up a wicket each with only Aaqib Khan and R Sai Kishore bowling a full quota of four overs among them.
In the run chase, Anuj Rawat of India A lost his wicket cheaply in the power play stage as Abhishek Sharma took the attack to the Oman bowlers with his swashbuckling 34 off 15, which included five fours and one maximum. After both the openers were dismissed, captain Tilak Varma (36* off 30) was involved in an 85-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ayush Badoni, who scored 51 off 27 with six fours and two maximums.
Although Nehal Wadhera lost his wicket shortly after Ayush Badoni’s dismissal, India A were taken over the finishing lineup by Ramandeep Singh with two maximums. With that, India A, who topped Group B of the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024, will be taking on Afghanistan A in the semi-final, while Sri Lanka A are going to compete against Pakistan Shaheens in the other last four clash.
