Pakistan Shaheens registered their second win in the Asia Cup Rising Stars as they defeated India A in the high-octane clash at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium, Doha. Pakistan A chased down 137 against the Indian A team with eight wickets in hand.
With this win, Pakistan Shaheens have booked their place in the semifinal of the tournament. They have been unbeaten in the continental tournament and have now bagged their second win. The Pakistani side had earlier defeated Oman in their opener.
Coming to this clash, Pakistan opted to field first after winning the toss. The much-fancied Indian batting line-up suffered a collapse as the surface seemed a bit two-paced, but it wasn’t, as seen by Pakistan’s batting in the second innings.
The hard-hitting Indian batting line-up never picked up the steam as the likes of Priyansh Arya, Jitesh Sharma, Nehal Wadhera, Ashutosh Sharma, and Ramandeep Singh could not perform well. Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Naman Dhir were the only saving graces for them. Suryavanshi made 45 from 28 balls, while Dhir scored 35 from 20 deliveries.
The Indian batters were troubled by the Pakistani bowlers on a pitch that looked a bit two-paced, but the batters failed to put good enough runs on the board. India were put into trouble after the Pakistan bowlers kept chipping in with regular wickets as the Indians made 136.
Pakistan Shaheens then outplayed India A with the bat after chasing down the meagre target of 137. Maaz Sadaqat was the star with the bat for his unbeaten 79 from 47 balls. He was dropped twice, first in the first over and then eighth over.
He was also part of a catch controversy when Nehal Wadhera and Naman Dhir had combined for a brilliant relay effort, which was deemed not-out. Maaz Sadaqat took Suyash towards the cow corner with his slog sweep, but Nehal, running to his right, took a brilliant catch before relaying it to Naman near the rope as he went outside the fence. Naman did take the catch, but Nehal was outside the boundary ropes when the former completed the catch.
Under the updated law – added to the ICC’s playing conditions in June and to be incorporated into the MCC Laws in October 2026 – a fielder who is airborne may make only one contact with the ball beyond the boundary and must re-enter the field of play for the catch to be considered legal. As Nehal was still outside, the catch was not deemed to be fair or legal.
Pakistan went on to chase the target with 40 balls to spare and eight wickets in hand.
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