Sai Sudarshan's masterclass helped India A beat Pakistan A by 108 runs in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday.
The Indian batsman scored an unbeaten 104 of 110 balls to help India chase down the target of 206 in just 36.4 overs. His brilliant innings included 10 fours and three sixes.
Meanwhile, Nikin Jose (53 off 64 balls) also scored a brisk half-century, hitting seven boundaries, to complement Sudarshan.
Winning the toss, Pakistan chose to bat first. However, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 95 for six. Qasim Akram and Mubasir Khan saved the blushes as the dup weaved a hard-fought 53-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
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For his unbeaten 💯 in the chase that powered India 'A' to a comfortable victory, Sai Sudarsan receives the Player of the Match award 👏🏻👏🏻
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 19, 2023
Scorecard - https://t.co/6vxep2BpYw #ACC#ACCMensEmergingTeamsAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/XibeaBbmlg
After Khan went back to the pavilion, Mehran Mumtaz continued to support Akram and they put up a 43-run partnership for the eighth wicket before the latter was dismissed for 48.
Rajvardhan Hangargekar was the primary architect in Pakistan's downfall as he took five wickets for 42 runs in eight overs. Meanwhile, Manav Suthar grabbed three wickets for 36 in his 10 overs.
The two late partnerships helped Pakistan cross the 200-mark and put up a fighting total.
After coming out to bat, Sudarshan and Abhishek Sharma put up a 58-run stand for the opening wicket, before the latter was bowled by Khan for 20 runs.
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Jose turned up at No.3 and along with Sudarshan he helped India cruise towards their target. After he was sent back by Mumtaz, India skipper Yash Dhull came out to bat.
Sudarshan and Dhull scored the final 50 runs in less than seven overs to seal an eight-wicket victory for India which also helped the Men in Blue finish as group toppers.
Make that 3️⃣ wins in a row for India 'A' in the #ACCMensEmergingTeamsAsiaCup!
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 19, 2023
A formidable eight-wicket win over Pakistan 'A' 👏🏻👏🏻
Scorecard - https://t.co/6vxep2BpYw #ACC pic.twitter.com/0iAiO8VkoY
What did Sai Sudarshan say after scoring a century against Pakistan A?
"Focusing more on risk-free runs. Focusing on ones and twos, and reducing dot balls. Against spinners, it was dicey and tricky wicket to bat. It was better to face against fast bowlers. We were just reacting to the situation in front of us. (On opening with Abhishek) Fantastic. I have admired Abhishek when he was in IPL and I wasn't," he stated after the match.
What next for India A?
India A will face Bangladesh A in the semifinal on Friday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
