India A survived a scare against Bangladesh A in the semi-final of the Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 after undergoing a monumental middle-order collapse to set up the final date with arch-rivals Pakistan A in Colombo. After the openers Sai Sudharsan and Abhishek Sharma gave India 'A' a good start, none of the incoming batters could go big apart from skipper Yash Dhull.
The likes of Nishant Sindhu, Nikin Jose, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag all fell cheaply as India A were reduced to 137/7 by a spirited Bangladesh A side and were on the verge of falling apart before Dhull stitched important partnerships with Manav Suthar and Rajvardhan Hangargekar to his side's score to more than 200.
Bangladesh A had a completely opposite start to their innings with the bat as the openers combined for a 70-run opening stand before the middle-order failed to make any significant contribution to allow India back into the game. One opportunity Indian bowlers saw, they stormed back into the contest with a magnificent bowling performance in the second half.
The tempers had already flared with Bangladesh bowlers giving Indian batters send-offs after every wicket and emotions were high for the Men in Blue as well given they were behind the game and every wicket felt like a step closer to the spot in the final. However, there was one such instance where it all got heated when the experienced Soumya Sarkar got out.
Off-spinner Yuvrajsinh Dodiya trapped Sarkar in front of the wickets but the batter had gotten an inside edge and the slip fielder Nikin Jose was already celebrating. The Indian players were pumped up as it was a huge wicket and pacer Harshit Rana celebrated in Sarkar's face which made the batter unhappy.
Sarkar was quick to address it to Rana, who got furious all of a sudden. Both Sarkar and Rana had a heated exchange before the umpire intervened. The umpire and Indian opener Sai Sudharsan separated the two before Sarkar chirped a few more words while walking off to the pavilion as the Indians continued to celebrate the big wicket.
Sindhu, who didn't do much with the bat was the wrecker-in-chief with the ball with five wickets as India A bowled out Bangladesh A for just 60, winning the game by 51 runs. India A will take on Pakistan A in the final of the tournament on Sunday, July 23.
