India lose to Pak in semis

Dhaka, November 20

India crashed out of the Asian Cricket Council’s Emerging Teams Cup after losing by three runs to archrivals Pakistan in the first semifinal here today.

Pakistan dished out a strong top-order display to put up 267/7 on the board after opting to bat. Openers Omair Yousuf (66 off 97 balls) and Haider Ali (43 off 60) put on a 90-run opening stand to lay a solid foundation. Thereafter, Said Badar (47 not out off 48), skipper Rohail Nazir (35) and Imran Rafiq (28) made useful contributions with the bat to take Pakistan to a big score.

For India, pacer Shivam Mavi (2/53), off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen (2/59) and Saurabh Dubey (2/60) shared six wickets among them.

In the chase, skipper Belur Ravi Sharath (47 off 43 balls) and Aryan Juyal (17 off 17) made a bright start, adding 43 runs off just 38 balls for the first wicket. After the dismissal of Juyal, Sharath held fort in the company of top-scorer Sanvir Singh (76 off 90) with a stand of 53 runs. Sharath fell with the scoreboard reading 96/2, and then followed the best part of India’s chase. Sanvir and Armaan Jaffer (46 off 53) added 83 runs in 14.4 overs. However, the chase faltered after the duo fell. Sanvir was run-out with the team score at 179, and after that Yash Rathod (13) and Armaan Jaffer were dismissed in quick succession. India were reduced to 211/5 in 38.1 overs.

With five wickets in hand, the target was still achievable, but India kept losing wickets regularly. With Chinmay Sutar (28 not out) at the crease, India needed seven runs off the last over. However, Pakistan’s right-arm pacer Amad Butt conceded only four runs and picked up the wicket of Mavi to stop India at 264/8. — PTI