After a dominant show in the league phase, India A will be favourites to seal a spot in the final of the Emerging Asia Cup when they face Bangladesh A in the semifinal on Friday. The most refreshing aspect about India’s undefeated run so far in the tournament is that they have found multiple heroes in times of need. India will be hoping for an encore of that all-round show against a tricky and competitive opponent in Bangladesh.
Pacer Harshit Rana (4/41) and captain Yash Dhull (108) were India’s star performers against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their tournament opener that they won by eight wickets.
However, that role was taken over by left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu (4/14) and openers B Sai Sudarshan (58) and Abhishek Sharma (87) against Nepal. India crushed Nepal by nine wickets.
All-rounder Rajvardhan Hangarkekar, who is the top wicket-taker in the tournament with eight wickets, too had chipped in with three wickets in that match.
In a keenly anticipated match, India cantered home against Pakistan by 8 wickets. In this match, Manav Suthar and Nikin Jose joined Sai Sudarshan and Hangarkekar as their key players.
Hangarkekar grabbed five wickets (5/42) and Sai Sudarshan (104) slammed a hundred to hog the headlines. But Nikin (53) and left-arm spinner Suthar (3/36) did the support cast job to perfection.
However, Bangladesh are no mere pushovers.
After a defeat against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, Bangladesh showed presence of mind to beat Oman and Afghanistan to reach the last four stage.
Tanzid Hasan and Mahmudul Hasan spearheaded their batting making 128 and 111 runs respectively, while pacer Tanzim Sakib led their bowling taking seven wickets.
Bangladesh will hope that the experienced Soumya Sarkar can make an impact against India.
India will also have an eye on the first semifinal in which Pakistan take on hosts Sri Lanka.
Semifinals (Friday): Sri Lanka A vs Pakistan A, 10 AM IST India A vs Bangladesh A, 2 PM IST.
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