India A pacer Harshit Rana and Bangladesh A batter Soumya Sarkar were involved in a heated argument during the semi-final clash between the two teams in the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 tournament on Friday.
India A beat Bangladesh A by 51 runs in semi-final 2 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo to set up a clash with Pakistan A in the final. Batting first after losing the toss, India A were bowled out for 211 in 49.1 overs as skipper Yash Dhull scored 66 off 85. In the chase, Bangladesh A were bowled out 160 in 34.2 overs.
Controversy erupted in the 26th over of Bangladesh A’s chase after Nikin Jose took a good diving catch off Yuvrajsinh Dodiya’s bowling to dismiss Sarkar for 5. The batter was, however, not convinced about the catch being a clean one. He thus stood his ground and waited for confirmation.
Rana and Sarkar then engaged in a verbal spat over the dismissal before Sai Sudharshan stepped in and controlled the situation. The wicket left Bangladesh A in big trouble at 130/5. Their lower order folded up without much resistance as India A booked their place in the final.
Dhull, Nishant Sindhu star in India A’s triumph over Bangladesh A
Batting first, India A got off to a decent start as Abhishek Sharma (34) and Sai Sudharsan (21) added 29 runs for the first wicket. Nikin Jose was dismissed for 17, but skipper Yash Dhull struck six fours in his defiant half-century to lift the batting side.
The lower order could not contribute much apart from Manav Suthar, who chipped in with 21. For Bangladesh A, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Rakibul Hasan claimed two wickets each.
In reply, Bangladesh A got off to a great start as Mohammad Naim (38) and Tanzid Hasan (51) added 70 in 12.4 overs. However, once the partnership was broken, the batting side lost their way and folded up for 160 in the 35th over.
For India A, Nishant Sindhu registered brilliant figures of 5/20, while Manav Suthar picked up 3/32.
India A will now meet Pakistan A in the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 final at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, July 23.