India pulled off a thrilling comeback win over Pakistan Shaheen in their opening game at the ACC T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 on Saturday. In-form fast bowler Anshul Kamboj took three wickets and defended 17 runs in the last over to give India A a stunning 7-run win in Al Amerat.
Captain Tilak Varma top-scored with 44 runs off 35 balls and openers Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh scored quickfire 30s to help India post a big total of 183 for 8 while batting first. Then Anshul took two early wickets in powerplay and also delivered the match-winning 20th over to give India a flying start in the tournament.
Pakistan, the defending champions, were leading the game for the majority of the time while chasing but Indian bowlers made a late impact. Anshul, who claimed the Player of the Tournament award in the recent Duleep Trophy, picked three wickets for 33 and Rasikh Salam and Nishant Sindhu claimed two each.
Meanwhile, after opting to bat first, openers Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh gave India a sensational start in powerplay. Abhishek struggled for the quick runs earlier in the game but once settled, he displayed his big-hitting skills by smashing 35 runs off 22 balls.
Punjab Kings' wicketkeeper batter Prabhsimran Singh also contributed by scoring 36 runs off just 19 balls with the help of three fours and three huge sixes. The opening duo added 68 runs for the first wicket in powerplay but then Pakistani bowlers replied with timely wickets of settled players.
Pakistan A Playing XI: Haider Ali, Mohammad Haris (c & wk), Yasir Khan, Omair Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Imran, Zaman Khan, Sufiyan Muqeem.
India A Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Ramandeep Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Tilak Varma (c), Ayush Badoni, Nehal Wadhera, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Chahar, Rasikh Dar Salam, Vaibhav Arora.
