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Afghanistan A defeated Sri Lanka A by seven wickets in the final to win the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024.
At the Al Amerat Cricket Ground on Sunday, Afghanistan A defeated Sri Lanka A by seven wickets to win the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024. On Sunday, Nuwanidu Fernando, the captain of Sri Lanka, won the toss and chose to bat. But it did not help Sri Lanka win the championship game. The sole standout batsman for Sri Lanka was Sahan Arachchige, who amassed 64 runs from 47 balls and six sixes while remaining undefeated at the wicket and contributing some vital runs to the total. Because of Arachchige’s crucial contribution, Sri Lanka reached 133/7 in the first inning.
Both Pawan Rathnayake (20 runs from 21 balls, 1 six) and Nimesh Vimukthi (23 runs from 19 balls, 1 four, and 1 six) added runs for Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan was able to limit Sri Lanka to 133/7, demonstrating their dominance of the match from the start. The Afghan bowling attack was led by Bilal Sami, who gave up just 22 runs and took three wickets in his four-over spell. In the first inning, Allah Ghazanfar also claimed two wickets.
The Afghans had a poor start to the chase despite opening with Zubaid Akbari (0 runs from 1 ball) and Sediqullah Atal (55 runs from 55 balls, 3 fours, and 1 six). Sahan Arachchige of Sri Lanka put pressure on Afghanistan by dismissing Akbari on the opening ball of the second inning.
But after Atal and Darwish Rasooli (24 runs from 20 balls, 2 fours, and 1 six) solidified an important partnership, Afghanistan mounted a strong comeback.
Afghanistan won the final thanks to incredible performances from Mohammad Ishaq (16 runs from 6 balls, 1 four, and 1 six) and Karim Janat (33 runs from 27 balls, 3 sixes). Sediqullah Atal and Mohammad Ishaq remained on the crease to win the final by seven wickets.
The bowling attack of Sri Lanka failed to restrict the target despite their best efforts. The only wickettakers for Sri Lanka were Sahan Arachchige, Dushan Hemantha, and Eshan Malinga.