"Watched Videos Of...": Pakistan A Skipper's Masterplan That Undid India A In Final

Following his side's win in the final of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup, Pakistan A skipper Mohammad Haris said that his team prepared for the final by watching videos of Indian batters, including key players Sai Sudarshan and Abhishek Sharma to prepare for the title clash. Tayyab Tahir's heroics with the bat and Sufiyan Muqeem's efforts with the ball took Paksitan A across the finish line against India A in an encounter that was one-sided for the majority of the game in the final of the ACC Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday. 

"Firstly, I would like to congratulate all of Pakistan. This is what happens, when you score big runs in a final, the opposition comes under pressure and then if you get back-to-back wickets it gets tough for them. We had tried different combinations in the last four-five matches, tried different players, and it worked well for us," said Haris in the post-match presentation. 

"We had shown the videos of the Indian batters to our bowlers. Sai Sudharsan and Abhishek were their main players and we thought that if we could get them out early, it would help us. I am very happy with how the boys are motivated. We have the Asia Cup also coming up and the World Cup too after that. Sri Lanka is a tough place to play spin. So it was good preparation," he added. 

Coming to the match, India opted to field first after winning the toss.

Pakistan put up 352/8 in their 50 overs. Saim Ayub (59 in 51 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Sahibzada Farhan (65 in 62 balls with four boundaries and sixes each) laid the foundation for a massive total following a 121-run opening stand.

Following their dismissal, Pakistan A sunk to 187/5, but Tayyab Tahir changed the game from that point. He put on a 126-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Mubasir Khan (35 in 47 balls), which took Pakistan beyond 300 runs. Tayyab smashed 108 in just 71 balls, with 12 fours and four sixes. This knock powered Pakistan to a huge total.

Riyan Parag (2/24) and Rajvardhan Hangargekar (2/48) took two wickets each. Manav Suthar, Nishant Sandhu and Harshit Rana got one wicket each.

In the chase of 353, India responded with a quickfire 64-run opening stand between Sai Sudarshan (29) and Abhishek Sharma. After Nikin Jose (11) departed early, Abhishek had a 52-run third-wicket partnership with skipper Yash (39 in 41 balls). Following Abhishek's dismissal for 61 off 51 balls, consisting of five fours and a six, India could not make a comeback in the match and were bundled out for 224 runs in 40 overs.

Sufiyan Muqeem (3/66) was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, while Arshad Iqbal, Mehran Mumtaz and Mohammed Wasim also got two wickets.

Tayyab earned the 'Player of the Match' for his knock.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team India Cricket Team Mohammad Haris Sai Sudharsan Abhishek Sharma Cricket