Afghanistan A beat Sri Lanka to lift T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup

Afghanistan A defeated Sri Lanka A by seven wickets in the final to win the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 for the first time.

After being asked to bowl, the Afghans, known as AfghanAbdalyan, reduced Sri Lanka A to 133/7 runs and set themselves a target of 134 runs. AM Ghazanfar (2/14) and Bilal Sami (3/22) ripped through the Sri Lanka A top-order to set the tone for Afghanistan in the ultimate showdown.

In reply, the Afghans lost Zubaid Akbari off the very first delivery, but Sediqullah Atal (55 not out) and the skipper Darwish Rasooli (24) led Afghanistan’s fightback with a much-needed 43-run stand. Karim Janat (33) joined Atal in the middle and played a crucial knock to get Afghanistan closer.

The match could have gone either way but Karim Janat’s two successive sixes off Dushan Hemantha totally shifted the momentum of the game towards Afghanistan and from there, there was no stopping, as Sediqullah, riding on his fifth consecutive half-century, got Afghanistan to the ultimate glory by seven wickets with 11 balls to spare.

Ghazanfar was awarded the Player of the Match for his extraordinary bowling display and terrific figures of 2/14. He bowled four consecutive overs with the new ball.

The Player of the Tournament award went to Sediqullah Atal, the man who put on an unmatched consistency in the entire competition and scored 368 runs at an outstanding average of 122.66 runs and an impressive strike rate of 147.79 in five innings, with 5 half-centuries to his name.

Earlier, Afghanistan A put on a commendable all-round performance to beat India A by 20 runs in the second semi-final and advance to the final.

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