India ‘A’ go down against Pakistan ‘A’ in Emerging Asia Cup 2023 final
Even though Pakistan A had players with international experience in their playing XI, India A were the favourites to win the final of the ACC Mens Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023. Especially, because the Men in Blue emerged victorious when these two teams last met in the group stage. However, the final was a different experience altogether for the Yash Dhull-led side. The team had the momentum but courtesy of a brilliant batting performance from Pakistan, the smiles and the excitement of playing a final soon faded away as India were under tremendous pressure right from the start.
Both openers, in the form of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan, managed to hit a half-century as Indian bowlers looked perplexed in the middle. Nevertheless, India managed to send them back to the pavilion and sooner than later, Riyan Parag too took a couple of wickets to put the pressure on Pakistan’s shoulder. That’s when it was expected the team to make a solid comeback, however, Tayyab Tahir’s blistering century completely changed the complexion of the game. Courtesy of his sensational stroke-making and a sweet cameo from Mohammad Wasim Jr., Pakistan posted 352 runs on board in the first innings.
Chasing such a massive total was always difficult, but India got a perfect start. Sai Sudharsan looked phenomenal but unfortunately, the cricketer couldn’t prolong his knock. His dismissal involved a lot of drama regarding a possible no-ball but the third umpire seemed to have judged it accurately. Later on, Abhishek Sharma took control of the situation but he could only score 61 runs off 51 deliveries.
Following this, Yash Dhull tried to build a partnership with the middle order batters but the wickets fell like a house of cards as India got bundled out for 224 runs, losing the match by an embarrassing margin of 128 runs. Social media was buzzing after the defeat as some even pointed out that it’s better to lose than play cricketers with international experience. Nevertheless, Pakistan fans gave it back to Indian fans, who are extremely disappointed after losing to their arch-rivals.
