India A beat the Pakistan Shaheens by seven runs in a thrilling match of the ACC T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 played at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Al Amarat on Saturday.

Batting first, a fighting 44 by captain Tilak Varma helped India A post 183/8 on the board in their opening Group B match.

In response, Pakistan Shaheens, winners of the last two editions of the cricket tournament (2019 and 2023) played in 50-over format, fell seven short thanks to some disciplined bowling by the Indian side.

After Tilak Varma won the toss and elected the bat, openers Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh gave India a brilliant start, putting up 68 on the board in the first six overs.

However, the end of the powerplay also marked the end of the partnership as Sharma (35 off 22) fell in the very next ball to Sufiyan Muqeem. Singh (36 off 19), too, departed in the very next over.

Captain Tilak Varma (44 off 35) and Nehal Wadhera (25 off 22) steadied the ship and took India past 100. Following Wadhera’s dismissal, India also lost Ayush Badoniu for just two before Varma and Ramandeep Singh stitched together a 43-run partnership to take India to 163 heading into the final few overs.

The Indian innings eventually ended at 183/8. Sufiyan Muqeem, with 2/28, was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers.

The Shaheens, who beat India A in the final last year, looked to signal their attacking intent with captain Mohammad Haris hitting Anshul Kamboj for a six off the very first ball of the Pakistani innings.

Kamboj’s response was quick as he rattled Haris’ stumps with the very next ball before sending back Omair Yousuf in his following over.

The Shaheens, however, recovered and looked well in the game with Yasir Khan and Qasim Akram playing their shots freely. Just as it seemed that the duo was running away with the game, Nishant Sindhu intervened in the ninth over to dismiss both.

The twin boost for Singh was just what India A needed to claw their way back into the game. Despite a quickfire 41 off 29 by Arafat Minhas and 25 off 15 by Abdul Samad, Indian bowlers managed to slowly squeeze the Pakistani scoring rate.

Even a quick nine-ball 18 by Abbas Afridi towards the end couldn’t stop Pakistan from facing defeat. Kamboj successfully defended 16 in the last over and finished with figures of 3/33 in his four overs.

Sindhu and Rasikh Salam scalped two wickets each as Pakistan Shaheens folded for 176/7 in the 20 overs.

The India A men’s cricket team will face UAE next in the ACC T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 on Monday.

IND-A vs PAK-A brief scores: India A 183/8 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 44; Sufiyan Muqeem 2/28) beat Pakistan A (Shaheens) 176/7 in 20 overs (Arafat Minhas 41; Anshul Kamboj 3/33) by seven runs.