Tayyab Tahir struck a remarkable century as Pakistan A clinched their second consecutive Emerging Teams Asia Cup title with a stunning 128-run win over India A, here on Sunday.
Once Pakistan posted a mammoth 352 for eight thanks to Tahir’s 71-ball 108 (12x4s, 4x6s), there was no doubt about the result. India won, but were all out for 224 in 40 overs and suffered their first defeat in this tournament.
Everything went in the right direction after the toss Who asked India, Pakistan The decision to bat first was a bit surprising as the team chasing the target had lost eight matches in the tournament.
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However, Pakistan A, which had fielded eight players with international experience, were in a mood to return gifts to India A, which had fielded an entirely under-23 side without experience of top-level cricket.
leading wicket taker of #ACCMensEmergingAsiaCupNishant Sindhu became the player of the tournament
He ended the tournament with a wicketscorecard – #acc pic.twitter.com/E0UeVqWfs5– BCCI (@BCCI) 23 July 2023
Pakistan scored six overs like a supercharged car and the run-rate subsequently crossed the seven runs per over mark. (Who is Abhishek Sharma, know everything about India-A star, disciple of Yuvraj Singh and SRH batsman)
Openers Saim Ayub (59 off 51 balls) and Sahibzada Farhan (65 off 62 balls) put on 121 runs in just 17.2 overs, making full use of the fresh surface and the hard ball.
Just as Pakistan seemed to have found the test of the Indian bowlers, they stormed into the match. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar dismissed Ayub to take his 11th wicket in the tournament.
In the next 11 overs, he conceded 66 runs but also took 4 wickets as Pakistan were reduced to 187 for 5.
Leg-spinner Riyan Parag also played a big role, taking two wickets in as many balls to dismiss Omair Yousuf and Qasim Akram.
However, Tahir dashed India’s hopes of a quick sweep of Pakistan with an innings of rare quality. Around the 30th over, the ball started gripping the surface a bit but Tahir displayed timing and power to play through the line.
India’s success in this tournament was built around their spin trio of Suthar, Nishant Sindhu and Abhishek Sharma, but Tahir nullified their presence with excellent shots.
The right-handed batsman, who made his debut for Pakistan’s senior team earlier this year, played cut, drive, pull and ramp at will to bring up his 100 off 66 balls. He found an able sidekick in Mubasir Khan while he put on 126 runs for the sixth wicket in just 16 overs as he thrashed the Indian bowlers fiercely. This partnership also took Pakistan past 300.
India were not deterred by the enormity of the target as B Sai Sudarshan and Abhishek put on 64 runs in 8.3 overs for the first wicket.
Pacer Arshad Iqbal broke the tie, with Mohammad Haris taking a simple catch behind the stumps off Sudarshan.
Abhishek completed a half-century (61, 51 balls) but once he was gone, the rest of the Indian batsmen struggled to cope with the ever-increasing demand rate at regular intervals.
Chinaman bowler Sufiyan Mukim did most of the damage with three wickets.










