India A boost final hopes with emphatic win over Afghanistan A

India A produced a strong batting performance to register a mammoth 101-run win over Afghanistan A in their final league fixture of the tri-series. Asked to bat first, India A posted 319, powered by half-centuries from Priyansh Arya, Tilak Varma and Kumar Kushagra. Afghanistan A played well in spurts but failed to build any momentum, eventually falling well short. The victory significantly boosted India A's chances of reaching the final, with the Afghans now needing to win and overturn a near-impossible net run-rate deficit in their final game.

After a drama-filled encounter against the hosts that ended in a Super Over defeat, India A made a few changes. Prabhsimran Singh was left out, with Arya promoted to open alongside Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The pair added 75 runs in just eight overs. Sooryavanshi made an unusually scratchy 38 off 28 balls.

The opener enjoyed a couple of early reprieves. Still on 0, he appeared to have been caught by Faridoon Dawoodzai at backward point in the second over, but the television umpire ruled that the fielder was not in full control of the ball. The decision left the Afghan camp stunned. In the following over, Sooryavanshi was dropped by Zahir Khan while attempting a pull shot off Faridoon. Although he found a handful of boundaries, the 15-year-old never looked entirely comfortable and eventually fell to Faridoon, miscuing a short delivery and ballooning a catch to cover.

At the other end, Arya was fluent from the outset and timed the ball beautifully. He raced to a 34-ball half-century, striking eight fours and a six. However, he was unable to convert the start into a bigger score, falling for 58 off 42 balls while attempting a cut off Farmanullah Safi. There was also some doubt over the catch, but this time the decision went Afghanistan's way. India A then lost Ruturaj Gaikwad shortly after another promising start. He made 30 off 31 balls before becoming the first of Abdullah Ahmadzai's two wickets.

Kumar Kushagra, who came in for Ayush Badoni, ensured there was no middle-order wobble. He joined captain Tilak Varma for a risk-free 104-run partnership that steadied the innings and laid the foundation for a strong finish. Kushagra struck five boundaries in his 67-ball 58, while Tilak was more measured in compiling 59 off 75 deliveries. India A also benefited from a handy 41-run stand for the seventh wicket, with Vipraj Nigam contributing a brisk 30 off 20 balls.

Afghanistan A began brightly in the chase, with captain Imran Mir leading the charge through a 27-ball 32. However, they were unable to maintain the momentum and lost three wickets inside the first 10 overs despite keeping the required rate under control.

Faisal Shinozada and Bahir Shah revived the innings with an 87-run partnership that briefly raised hopes of a comeback. But Anukul Roy broke the stand by dismissing Shinozada four runs short of a half-century, holding on to a return catch off his own bowling.

Bahir Shah reached his fifty but could not push on. Nigam had him swiping against the turn, with the resulting top edge comfortably taken by Suryansh Shedge at long-off. That dismissal effectively ended Afghanistan A's hopes as India A tightened their grip on the contest and closed out the game without much trouble.

Nishant Sindhu, who dismissed Mir early on, came back to mop up the tail, finishing with 4 for 31 as Afghanistan A were bowled out with 13.1 overs remaining.

Brief scores: India A 319/9 in 50 overs (Priyansh Arya 58, Kumar Kushagra 58, Tilak Varma 59; Abdullah Ahmadai 2-62) beat Afghanistan A 218 in 36.5 overs (Bahir Shah 57; Nishant Sindhu 4-31, Yash Thakur 2-48) by 101 runs.