India A skipper Tilak Varma produced an impressive 44-run knock in the Mens T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 against Pakistan A at Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Muscat, Oman on Saturday (October 19). His contribution helped the Indian team prevail over their arch-rivals by seven runs in a thrilling contest.
Batting first, the Men in Blue were off to a scintallating start with the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh. The duo went all guns blazing and tormented the Pakistan bowlers to the hilt with their explosive strokeplay. They garnered a staggering 68 runs in the powerplay, with the final over accounting for 25 runs.
However, as the fielding restrictions were lifted, Sharma (35) and Prabhsimran (36) perished in consecutive overs, putting India in a little spot of bother. At this juncture, Varma arrived at the crease and took his own time to settle down. After understanding the nature of the surface, the southpaw went ballistic with his hitting, and went on to slam 44 off 35 balls. During his presence, he added a crucial 38-run stand with Nehal Wadhera (22).
In the end, Ramandeep Singh returned with a cameo of 17 off 11 balls, as India managed to post a challenging total of 183 on the board. Sufiyan Muqeem was the pick of the bowlers with two scalps for the Men in Green.
Tilak Varma’s side held their nerves to win a thriller against Pakistan A
Chasing 184, Pakistan A started on a bad note, losing their skipper Mohammad Haris (6) and Omair Yousuf (2) early. However, the pair of Yasir Khan and Qasim Akram (27) were impressive to build the team’s momentum with their positive intent.
Nishant Sindhu’s came into attack in the ninth over and secured a double strike to break the blossoming partnership. Ramandeep Singh plucked a sensational one-handed catch to send Yasir (33) packing, while Akram (27) was dismissed as well. Although, it put a dent on Pakistan A’s momentum, Arafat Minhas (41 off 29) displayed counter-attacking game to keep the team in the hunt.
In the end, Abdul Samad (25 off 15) played well, but Pakistan ended their innings on 176/7 and lost by seven runs. Anshul Kamboj was the most successful bowler for India with three wickets, while Sindhu and Rasikh Dar Salam picked two wickets each.
The Tilak Varma-led side will clash against the United Arab Emirates on Monday (October 21) in their next game of the Mens T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Meanwhile, Pakistan A meets the hosts Oman on the same day.
