In a thrilling encounter during the Emerging Asia Cup final in Colombo, India A won the toss and chose to field first, inviting Pakistan A to bat. An India A bowler’s costly mistake gave a chance to a Pakistan A batsman. The match took an interesting turn when India A’s pacer Rajvardhan Hangargekar committed a blunder reminiscent of Jasprit Bumrah’s infamous no-ball incident in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
On this occasion, Hangargekar bowled a delivery that saw Pakistan A’s batsman Saim Ayub mistiming his pull shot. The ball went up in the air, and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel managed to catch it.
However, India’s celebration was short-lived as the umpire signalled a no-ball, indicating that Hangargekar had overstepped the crease. The unfortunate error provided a significant reprieve to Ayub, who was batting on 17 at the time.
Rajvardhan Hangargekar provided a major lifeline to Saim Ayub in the Emerging Asia Cup final
The only chance in the powerplay was off a no-ball.
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.#ACCMensEmergingTeamsAsiaCup #INDvPAKonFanCode pic.twitter.com/Uv9Zx6GSvh— FanCode (@FanCode) July 23, 2023
It is worth noting that a similar no-ball error by Jasprit Bumrah had given a lifeline to Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman during the 2017 Champions Trophy final, leading to a pivotal century by the Pakistani batsman. Nonetheless, Ayub’s innings was eventually cut short by in-form spinner Manav Suthar, who dismissed him after scoring 59 runs off 51 balls.
In the end, Pakistan A managed to post a competitive total on the board after being invited to bat by India A. Previously, in the semi-finals, India A secured a 51-run victory over Bangladesh, securing their spot in the final of the Emerging Asia Cup 2023.
On the other hand, Pakistan A had a convincing 60-run victory against Sri Lanka in the semi-final match, ensuring their place in the final. For the final clash, India A’s squad remained unchanged from the semi-finals, while Pakistan A made one change, bringing in Mehran Mumtaz in place of Amad Butt.
India A XI: B Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Sharma, Nikin Jose, Yash Dhull (capt), Riyan Parag, Nishant Sindhu, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Harshit Rana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Pakistan A XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Omair Yousuf, Tayyab Tahir, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Haris (capt, wk), Mubasir Khan, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Wasim, Arshad Iqbal, Sufiyan Muqeem.”
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