In their third match of tri series, India A cruised to an easy win over Afghanistan A by 113 runs played at Pretoria today. Winning the toss, Afghanistan A bowled first as India A scored a massive total of 322 for 5 which Afghanistan A could not chase down. It is their second win of the tournament.
Afghanistan A captain Shafiqullah won the toss and elected to field. The Indian openers Karun Nair and Shreyas Iyer got off to a positive start with Iyer the aggressive batsmen. Karun Nair was dismissed for 9 in 29 balls. The first wicket put on 38 runs for the first wicket in 8.2 overs. At the end of first 10 overs, India A scored 43 for 1 with Iyer and Pant at the crease.
Iyer and Pant played with positive intent putting the pressure on the Afghan bowlers. Both of them added 70 runs for the second wicket before Iyer was dismissed 44. Pant looked in good hitting touch as he completed his fifty in 52 balls with a six. The hard hitting left handed batsmen were dismissed for 60 in 59 balls. Captain Manish Pandey and Deepak Hooda added 78 runs for the fourth wicket. Hooda was dismissed for 32. Krunal Pandya played a cameo knock of 48 runs off 27 balls. Manish Pandey stayed till the end and remained not out on 86 off 87 balls. India A posted a competitive total of 322 for 5 in 50 overs.
Chasing a massive target of 323, Mohammed Siraj took the wicket of Ihsanullah in the second over of the innings. Javed Ahmadi and Younas Ahmadzi added 37 runs for the second wicket. After the first 10 overs, Afghanistan A were 38 for 2. All the batsmen got starts but were not able to convert those into big scores. The top scorer for Afghanistan A was Najibullah Zadran with 62. Afghanistan A scored 209 for 9 in 50 overs
India A 322 for 5 in 50 overs ( Manish Pandey 86*, Pant 60, Krunal 48, Ashraf 2/48) beat Afghanistan A 209 for 9 in 50 overs ( Najibullah Zadran 62, Mohammed Siraj 3/49) by 113 runs.
India A will play their league match against South Africa A on 3rd August
