NEW DELHI: India A sealed their place in the final of the tri-nation A series by beating Afghanistan A by 101 runs in Dambulla on Wednesday, with half-centuries from Priyansh Arya, Tilak Verma and Kumar Kshagra followed by a four-wicket haul from Nishant Sindhu.After posting an impressive 319/9 in 50 overs, India A bowled out Afghanistan A for 218 in 36.5 overs to enter the final, aided by a high net run rate of +0.797. India A will now face either Sri Lanka A or Afghanistan A in the final on June 21 in Dambulla. Asked to bat first, India A got off to a flying start through openers Priyansh Arya and Vibhu Suryavanshi, who added 75 runs in just 48 balls for the opening wicket.Suryavanshi survived an early scare when a brilliant catch at point was ruled not out by the third umpire, and the youngster made the most of a 28-ball 38 with four fours and two sixes before Faridoon Daudzai ended his stay at the end.Arya continued the charge and scored a fluent half-century. The left-hander hit nine fours and a six in his 42-ball 58, creating a solid platform for the middle order.India A captain Tilak Verma and wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Kshagra led the innings before Rutoraj Gaikwad scored 30 runs.Both of them put together an important partnership of 104 runs for the fourth wicket. Verma opened the innings with a 75-ball 59, while Kshagra impressed in his first appearance in the series, scoring 67-ball 58.With both the set batsmen gone, Vipraj Nigam made a late flourish with a blistering 30 off just 20 balls, while Nishant Sindhu remained unbeaten on 21 as India A crossed the 300-run mark.For Afghanistan A, Faridoon Daudzai, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Farmanullah Safi took two wickets each.Chasing 320, Afghanistan A never really recovered after losing wickets at regular intervals.Yash Thakur Hasan got Isa Khel out and struck early, while Anshul Kamboj made a brilliant breakthrough when Vibhu Suryavanshi pulled off a brilliant catch at the second attempt to remove Khalid Thaniwal.Skipper Imran Mir fought back with 32, but Nishant Sindhu trapped him with the help of a good catch from Suryanesh Shedge.Afghanistan A’s only meaningful resistance came through Faisal Shinzada and Bahr Shah. The pair added 87 runs for the fourth wicket and briefly threatened to keep the chase alive.Bahr led the counter-attack with a 52-ball 57, hitting four fours and a six, while Faisal fell short of his half-century in heartbreaking fashion after scoring 46 runs.The turning point came when Anukul Roy dismissed Faisal and Vipraj Nigam removed Bahir shortly after. After the partnership broke down, Afghanistan A’s lower order put up little resistance.Sindhu then chased away Shamsur Rahman, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Zahir Khan to take 4 wickets for 31 runs in 6.5 overs.Yash Thakur took two wickets, while Kamboj, Roy, Nigam and Shadej took one each.Afghanistan A were eventually bowled out for 218, giving India A a comprehensive victory by 101 runs.
