Tri-Nation Series: Afghanistan Shock India And despite fifties by Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Prabhsimran Singh

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan A pulled off a surprise four-run win over a strong India A side by DLS in a rain-affected tri-series match on Thursday.India A put up a big total of 349/9 in their 49-over innings, but Afghanistan A stayed ahead of DLS’s par score when rain forced an early end to the match. After several rain interruptions, Afghanistan A were given a revised target of 294 runs in 38 overs.Imran, Bahir Shah lead the hunt for AfghanistanAfghanistan got off to a positive start as captain Imran and Hassan Eisakhil attacked the Indian bowlers. Imran remained unbeaten on 75 off 70 balls while Hassan made 34 off 29 deliveries.Bahir Shah then joined his captain and scored a composed 51 off 52 balls. The pair added a vital partnership to take Afghanistan A to 177/2 in 25.5 overs before rain stopped play again.When DLS calculations were applied, Afghanistan A were four runs short of the required par score, giving them a memorable victory.India A batsmen are dominatingEarlier, India A’s top order produced a strong batting performance. Captain Tilak Varma, vice-captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and opener Prabhsimran Singh all scored half-centuries as the Afghan bowlers struggled to slow down the scoring rate.Teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again impressed with an aggressive innings. The left-hander smashed 44 off just 22 balls, hitting nine boundaries and scoring at a rate of 200.Vaibhav and Prabhsimran added 74 runs for the opening wicket in just 7.1 overs to give India a flying start.Prabhsimran, Gaikwad and Tilak keep India on trackVaibhav’s innings ended when he attempted a ramp shot against Abdallah Ahmadzai and kicked the ball to keeper Mohammad Ishaq. Ahmadzai was Afghanistan’s top bowler, finishing with figures of 5/68.Prabhsimran continued the pace and made 84 off 69 balls. He added 79 runs with Gaikwad for the third wicket before falling short of a century.Gaikwad then shared a 78-run partnership with Tilak Varma as both batsmen scored their second consecutive fifty-plus scores in the tournament.Late heyday has India more than 300India suffered a brief setback when Gaikwad and Ayush Badoni were dismissed off consecutive deliveries by Farmanullah Safi, reducing them from 245/3 to 245/5.Tilak, however, found support from Suryansh Shedge, who played a quick-fire 40 off 27 balls. The duo stitched together 70 runs for the sixth wicket, helping India cross the 300-run mark.India will next face Sri Lanka A on June 15 in Dambulla.Captains react Named player of the match, Afghanistan captain Imran praised the team’s belief and positive attitude.“It was our first game and we played natural cricket. I believed in myself and the team in the chase,” he said.India A captain Tilak Varma admitted that the rain-affected conditions and DLS calculations ended up working against his side.“We batted well. But unfortunately the way DLS works… Afghanistan A batted well but at the same time we thought it would be tough to chase down 294 in 38 overs. Bowling is not a problem but we will go back to the drawing board. Our aim is to win a few more matches and reach the final,” Tilak said.