Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024: Three reasons why Afghanistan A won final against Sri Lanka A

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Afghanistan A defeated Sri Lanka A by seven wickets in the final match of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 on Sunday, October 27, at the Al Amerat stadium in Oman.

After restricting their opponents to a meagre first-innings scoreline of 133/7, the Afghans chased down the target in a comfortable manner, reaching 134/3 with 11 deliveries remaining. This victory secured Afghanistan A’s first-ever Emerging Teams Asia Cup title, with the team never reaching the final before.

Several key factors combined for Afghanistan A’s victorious result, including standout performances from their own players as well as several Sri Lankan stars being no-shows in the final.

Let’s have a comprehensive look at three key reasons why Afghanistan A won the final against Sri Lanka A in such a decisive manner.

#3. Sediqullah Atal’s masterclass

Another day, another world-class performance from Sediqullah Atal in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024. Despite a duck from his opening partner Zubaid Akbari, Sediq ensured a solid start for his team, scoring 55 runs from as many deliveries. The batter’s solid innings led Afghanistan A to reach the target of 134 with relative ease, winning the knock with almost two overs to spare.

Sediqullah finished the tournament with a record-breaking 368 runs, and his performance will surely rank as one of the best ever produced by an Afghan batter.

#2. No Dushan Hemantha heroics

Dushan Hemantha has been a talismanic performer for Sri Lanka A in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 tournament. The leg-spinner took 15 wickets in five matches, leading the wicket-taking charts by some margin.

However, much to Sri Lanka A’s agony, only one of those wickets came in the final match against Afghanistan A – that of skipper Darwish Rasool. However, Sediqullah formed a solid partnership with Karim Janat and Mohammad Ishaq after him to ensure that Rasool’s wicket did not affect the run-chase.

Without Hemantha’s crucial wickets, the Lankan bowling attack was left toothless, with Eshan Malinga and Sahan Arachchige failing to fill the void. As a result, the Afghans did not face much trouble in scoring the 134 runs required to win the final.

#1. Bilal Sami and AM Ghazanfar hunt Sri Lankan top order

While the Sri Lanka A bowlers failed to turn up during the final, their Afghan compatriots were different, with the duo of Bilal Sami and Allah Mohammad Ghaznafar absolutely decimating the Lankan top order. The pace-spin combination worked like a charm, dismissing the first four Sri Lanka A batters – Yashodha Lanka, Lahiru Udara, Nuwanidu Fernando, and Ahan Wickramasinghe – for a combined score of 14 runs.

Sami ended the match with figures of 3/22, while Ghaznafar had 2/14, marking one of the best bowling attacks seen in final matches in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup tournaments.