Prabhsimran, Gaikwad, Tilak Score Fifties in DLS Loss to Afghanistan A

Prabhsimran, Gaikwad, Tilak score fifties in DLS loss to Afghanistan A

Afghanistan A 177 for 2 (Imran 75*, Bahir 51*) beat India A 349 for 9 (Prabhsimran 84, Gaikwad 66, Tilak 66) by 4 runs (DLS method)

Sooryavanshi Impresses Again

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put on a more impactful display against Afghanistan A, cutting the first two balls he faced through cover point for fours. He predominantly targeted the off side, driving or slashing anything offering width, finding the cover and point boundaries with ease, helping India A reach 50 in 4.5 overs.

Prabhsimran Leads the Way

Prabhsimran also started well, driving fuller balls through the covers and when the bowlers pulled their lengths back, he was happy to walk down the track and put away some punchy square drives. He brought up a 39-ball half-century in the 14th over, driving left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan straight of mid-off to get to the milestone.

Gaikwad and Tilak Control the Middle Overs

Gaikwad, fresh off a century against Sri Lanka A, started off from where he left off, meeting his first ball with a glorious back-foot cover drive. Once Prabhsimran fell, Gaikwad was joined by Tilak, and the two kept the scoreboard ticking mainly through singles and doubles, in the effort to ensure India A had the platform for a big finish.

India A’s Bowlers Struggle for Penetration

Afghanistan A openers Hassan Eisakhil and Imran started off quickly, with Eisakhil the initial aggressor. India A’s new-ball bowlers Anshul Kamboj and Arshad Khan failed to threaten, until Arshad drew a top edge from Eisakhil with a bouncer in the eighth over, and later in the same over had the Afghanistan opener pulling another short ball to deep square leg.

Afghanistan A were four runs ahead on DLS when rain and bad light eventually stopped play at 5.28pm.