India-A registered a dominating 9-wicket win over Nepal in the Group stage match
of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. With this win, India-A has gained four
points and continues to remain at the top of Group B with two wins out of two
matches and a net run rate of +3.9. On the other hand, Nepal crashed out from
the group stage of the tournament after losing the second game in a row in
Colombo on Monday.
Chasing an average target of 168, India-A openers Sai Sudharsan and Abhishek
Sharma gave their side an excellent start, adding 139 runs in 19 overs. Both young
cricketers batted brilliantly to reach their half-centuries. While Sudharsan
remained unbeaten on 58 Abhishek departed after playing an excellent knock of
87. Dhruv Jurel, who chipped in with 21, finished off the proceedings in style by
hitting a huge six.
Earlier, Indian bowlers dominated Nepal with the ball and bowled them out for
167 runs in 39.2 overs. Nepal, who won the toss and opted to bat first, never
found its momentum or rhythm going as its batters kept losing wickets. While
other batters failed to perform well Nepal’s captain Rohit Paudel played a fighting
knock of 65 to help his side reach a decent score.
Gulsan Jha played a handy knock of 38 to add something to the scoreboard.
Indian bowlers especially Nishant Sindhu and Rajvardhan Hangargekar did a great
job and ran through the Nepal batting line-up. The 19-year-old all-rounder
Nishant impressed everyone with his four-wicket haul while Hangargekar scalped
three.