India A and Pakistan Shaheens secured the final two spots in the semi-finals of the men's Emerging Asia Cup today (October 23), with victories over the UAE and Oman respectively to take the top two spots in Group B.
Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A secured their places in the semi-finals of the competition in Group A, despite Afghanistan A's loss to Hong Kong in their final fixture. Pakistan Shaheens will face Sri Lanka A in the first semi-final, with India A and Afghanistan A facing off in the second semi. Both matches will take place on October 25.
Dahani five-for secures dominant win
Pakistan Shaheens went into their final fixture of the group stage off the back of a 74-run win over Oman in their previous match. They lost to India A in their opening match of the competition, falling seven runs short of their 184-run target. Mohammad Haris and Shahnawaz Dahani took centre stage in their win over UAE. Haris struck an unbeaten 71 off 49 balls, combining with a Haider Ali cameo of 32 off 17 balls late in the innings. Their partnership pushed the Shaheens up to 179-4 off their 20 overs.
In response, Dahani ensured UAE never really got going. He dismissed Mayank Kumar for a two-ball duck with the final ball of his opening over of the innings, before bowling the other opener Aryansh Sharma with the final ball of his second. The fifth ball of his third secured a demolition of UAE's top order, with No.3 Tanish Suri dismissed for a run-a-ball 15. Dahani went on to take two further wickets, securing a five-for, as UAE were bowled out for 65. Dahani's final figures read 5-12 off four overs.
Badoni guides India A chase
India A limited Oman to 140-5 in the first innings of the game. They used eight bowlers in the innings as they struggled to make inroads into Oman's lineup after an initial burst in the powerplay. A rapid half-century from Ayush Badoni saw them to a win with 28 balls to spare. Abhishek Sharma also put on powerful display up top, hitting 34 from 15 balls before becoming the second wicket to fall in the powerplay.
Abhishek's wicket brough Badoni to the crease alongside Tilak Varma. After steadying himself at the crease for a couple of overs, Badoni went after leggie Samay Shrivastav, hitting him for five consecutive boundaries, including two sixes, and taking 24 runs off his second over in the attack. Badoni reached his half-century off 24 balls but was dismissed by Aamir Kaleem for 51. At that point, an India A victory was all-but secured, with 13 runs needed off 41 balls and seven wickets in hand.
That result secured India A a top-place finish in Group B, as the only side from both groups to have won all their matches in the group stage.
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