Sri Lanka A, Afghanistan A make winning starts

Sri Lanka A opener Avishka Fernando celebrates his century against Bangladesh A

Zubairullah Akbari who top scored for Afghanistan A sweeps for runs against Oman A

• Avishka Fernando scores first century of tournament

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A began the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup tournament with victory over Bangladesh A and Oman A respectively yesterday.

Sri Lanka A powered by a delightful century from opener Avishka Fernando beat Bangladesh A by 48 runs in a high scoring game at the SSC grounds, while Afghanistan came up with a disciplined effort to defeat Oman A by 72 runs at the CCC grounds.

Fernando was in imperious form hitting 13 fours and three sixes in compiling a magnificent 133 which laid the foundation for Sri Lanka A’s total of 349-8. Fernando figured in three noteworthy partnerships that helped swell the Lankan total beyond 300. With Lasith Croospulle (31), Fernando put on 51 off 48 balls in an opening partnership and followed it up with stands of 125 off 124 balls with Minod Bhanuka (57 off 55 balls, 4 fours, 3 sixes) and 75 off 59 balls with Pasindu Sooriyabandara (43 off 32 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes). Ashen Bandara (35 off 25 balls, 4 fours) and skipper Dunith Wellalage (31 off 19 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) carried the total closer to the 350-run mark with a rollicking stand of 62 off 38 balls.

Bangladesh A began their chase well with an opening stand of 69 in 10 overs between Mohammad Naim (22) and Tanzid Hasan (51 off 39 balls, 11 fours) and at one stage looked like challenging the Lankan total when they were 152-2 in the 21st over courtesy of a 78-run liaison between Zakir Hasan (26) and the captain Mohammad Saif. But Sri Lanka’s new leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha put the brakes on the Bangladesh run rate by capturing the wickets of Saif (53 off 46 balls, 4 fours, 3 sixes), Mahmudul Hasan (11) and Akbar Ali (0) within the space of six overs for Sri Lanka to gain control of the match. 

Bangladesh didn’t give in quite easily though, as their late order batsmen kept them in the hunt with two further stands of 48 and 52 before seamer Pramod Madushan coming for a late spell put an end to their innings by capturing the last two wickets to finish with figures of 3/50.  

Afghanistan A came up with a methodical performance scoring 267-8 and then bowling out Oman A for 195. Top scorer for Afghanistan was opener Zubairullah Akbari with a meticulous 79 off 84 balls (14 fours). He figured in an opening stand of 90 with Reyaz Hassan (27) to lay the foundation for Afghanistan A’s total. Oman A couldn’t stitch any partnership of substance and the folded up for 195 in the 41st over with Ayan Khan and Shoaib Khan scoring 47 apiece. Seamers Zia Ur Rehman and Mohammad Ibrahim bowled impressively for Afghanistan A sharing six wickets.  

Results

• At SSC: Sri Lanka A beat Bangladesh A by 48 runs.

Sri Lanka A 349-8 (50) (Avishka Fernando 133, Lasith Croospulle 31, Minod Bhanuka 57, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 43, Ashen Bandara 35, Dunith Wellalage 31, Ripon Mondol 3/71, Soumya Sarkar 3/52)

Bangladesh A 301 (48.3) (Mohammad Naim 22, Tanzid Hasan 51, Zakir Hasan 26, Saif Hasan 53, Soumya Sarkar 42, Mahedi Hasan 31, Rakibul Hasan 40, Pramod Madushan 3/50, Sahan Arachchige 2/62, Dushan Hemantha 3/54)

• At CCC: Afghanistan A beat Oman A by 72 runs.

Afghanistan A 267-8 (50) (Zubairullah Akbari 79, Reyaz Hassan 27, Noor Ali Zadran 35, Shahidullah Kamal 45, Ikram Alikhil 34, Sharafuddin Ashraf 24, Kaleemullah 2/41, Aaqib Ilyas 2/50)

Oman A 195 (40.3) (Aaqib Ilyas 39, Ayaan Khan 47, Shoaib Khan 47, Mohammad Ibrahim 3/22, Zia Ur Rehman 3/37, Izharulhaq Naveed 2/42)

Today’s Matches

India A v UAE A at SSC (10 am), Pakistan A v Nepal at CCC (10 am