Watch highlights: India A beat Bangladesh A in the ACC Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup semi-final

India A will now clash with Pakistan A in the final of the tournament on Sunday.

In a low-scoring match in the second semi-final of the ongoing Emerging Nations Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, India A defeated Bangladesh A to go to the championship game against Pakistan, which will be played on Sunday.

On July 21, 2023, Bangladesh A captain Saif Hussain won the toss and decided to field first due to the Premadasa Stadium's infamously spin-friendly pitch. This was the second elimination game of the day. And it turned out he made the right choice.

The two top-order batters for India A, Abhishek Sharma (34) and Sai Sudharsan (21) were the main run-getters, but after they fell, the Indian team was unable to put together a significant partnership as wickets kept falling.

But captain Yash Dhull managed to keep the innings together and scores significant runs with the bottom order. He added 41 runs with Manav Suthar (21) and then 21 with Rajvardhan Hangargekar (15) while scoring 66 in 85 balls himself as India posted a below-par 211 on the board.

For Bangladesh A, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Rakibul Hasan took two wickets each.

Bangladesh falter under the pressure of a knockout match despite a very good start

Bangladesh had a very small total to chase, but India A wasn’t in the mood to make it easy for them. However, openers Mohammad Naim (38) and Tanzis Hasan (51) added 70 runs for the first wicket in 12 overs. After they got out, Said Hussain (22) and Mahmudul Hasan Joy (20) tried to carry forward the momentum.

However, Yash Dhull's outstanding captaincy and effective usage of his two spinners, Manav Suthar and Nishant Sandhu, allowed India to recover from Bangladesh's 94/2 position in the 18th over and get back into the game.

The opposition was bowled out for just 160 runs in 34.2 overs, giving the Indian team a 51-run victory as Suthar picked up 3/32 in his 8.3 overs while Sandhu picked up 5/20.

For his half-century and two catches, India A captain Yash Dhull was named Player of the Match. He will now lead the team against Pakistan A in the title game on Sunday.

Check out the highlights of this thrilling encounter: