Afghanistan ‘A’ outclassed Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the final of the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 making it their first major title win as a full member country.
Sri Lankan skipper Nuwanindu Fernando won the toss and elected to bat first in spin-friendly conditions with the thought that the wicket would help the Sri Lankan spinners in the latter part of the game.
Afghan bowlers came all guns blazing, and Sri Lanka was four down inside 4 overs. Allah Gazanfar and Bilal Sami shared two wickets each in the powerplay.
Pavan Rathnayake and Sahan Arachchige combined for a 50-run partnership. Following Rathnayake’s departure, all-rounder Nimesh Vimukthi contributed a handy partnership, pushing Sri Lanka to a competitive total of 133. Sahan Arachchige remained unbeaten, finishing the innings with 64 runs.
In reply, Sri Lanka struck with their first ball. Sahan Arachchige yet again was the center of attention as he sent the in-form Afghani opener Zubaid Akbari back to the hut. The tournament’s highest run scorer Sediqullah Atal was on his merry way as he was pouncing on anything loose. Atal guided the Afghans to the finish line in 18.1 overs while scoring an unbeaten 55 runs.
Sri Lankan bowlers bowled their hearts out but the lack of runs on the board made the Afghans chasing down the target inevitable.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka ‘A’ 133/7 (20) Sahan Arachchige 64, Nimesh Vimukthi 23, Pavan Ratnayake 20, Bilal Sami 3/22, Allah Ghazanfar 2/14
Afghanistan ‘A’ 134/3 (18.1) Sediqullah Atal 55*, Karim Janat 33, Darwish Rasooli 24
Result – Afghanistan ‘A’ won by 7 wickets
