Dambulla, June 17 (IANS) Riding on a strong batting display led by skipper Tilak Varma and left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu’s four-wicket haul, India A stormed into the final of the 50-over tri-series with a commanding 101-run victory over Afghanistan A at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Dambulla, June 17 (IANS) Riding on a strong batting display led by skipper Tilak Varma and left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu’s four-wicket haul, India A stormed into the final of the 50-over tri-series with a commanding 101-run victory over Afghanistan A at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Half-centuries from Varma (59), Priyansh Arya and Kumar Kushagra (58 each) helped India A post a mammoth 319/9 in their 50 overs. In reply, Sindhu picked 4-31 to bowl out Afghanistan A for 218 in 36.5 overs.

Promoted to open the batting with no Prabhsimran Singh around, Arya made full use of the opportunity to hit eight boundaries and a six in his 42-ball vigil at the crease. He shared a rollicking 75-run stand in just eight overs with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who made a scratchy 38, and didn’t capitalise on the reprieves given

Arya’s dismissal to Farmanullah Safi halted his charge, but India A’s middle order ensured the momentum did not dip. After Ruturaj Gaikwad fell for 30, Kushagra, who came in for Ayush Badoni, shared a pivotal 104-run partnership with Tilak. While Tilak hit a measured 59 off 75 balls, Kushagra smashed 58 off 67 deliveries, before Vipraj Nigam’s brisk cameo of 30 off 20 balls pushed India’s total past 310.

In reply, Afghanistan A began brightly through captain Imran Mir’s 27-ball 32 but faltered under sustained pressure. Despite an 87-run stand between Faisal Shinozada (46) and Bahir Shah (57), the chase lost steam once Anukul Roy dismissed the former and the latter fell to Nigam. Sindhu, who had struck early to remove Mir, returned to mop up the tail and get an outstanding win for India A.

Brief Scores: India A 319/9 in 50 overs (Tilak Varma 59, Priyansh Arya 58; Abdullah Ahmadzai 2-62, Farmanullah Safi 2-62) beat Afghanistan A 218 all out in 36.5 overs (Bahir Shah 57, Faisal Shinozada 46; Nishant Sindhu 4-31, Yash Thakur 2-48) by 101 runs

–IANS

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