India A vs Afghanistan A Highlights: Massive Win Sends India A Into Final

After defeating Afghanistan A by 101 runs in the fifth match on 17 June, India A reached the final of the ongoing A-team tri-series in Sri Lanka. This gave India A four points from four matches, including two wins and two losses, which was enough to secure their place in the final.

Sri Lanka A also have four points, while Afghanistan A also have two points. They will clash on 19 June, where Afghanistan A need a big win to surpass Sri Lanka’s net run rate. India A are safe anyway, thanks to a good NRR of 0.597 which means they cannot move to third place.

Current Standings of the 2026 A-Team Tri-Series in Sri Lanka

Team	Matches	Wins	Losses	Points	NRR
India A	4	2	2	4	0.597
Sri Lanka A	3	2	1	4	0.494
Afghanistan A	3	1	2	2	-1.602

Afghanistan A Struggle In The Chase

Chasing a target of 320, Afghanistan A struggled from the start. Wickets fell at regular intervals and the innings never really got going. Afghanistan A lost their top three wickets, including captain Imran Mir, in the first 10 overs, which limited the team to just 70 runs on the scoreboard. Mir was batting confidently before Player of the Match Nishant Sindhu was caught at mid-on.

A crucial partnership followed, with Faisal Shinozada (46 off 56 balls) and Bahir Shah (57 off 52 balls) adding 87 runs for the fourth wicket, giving their team and the fans some hope. The pair maintained the required run rate and briefly challenged India A captain Tilak Verma’s plans.

The partnership ended in the 25th over when Anukul Roy dismissed Shinozada for four runs short of fifty. His innings included two fours and a six at a scoring rate of 82.14. Bahir continued to bat well but was caught at mid-off after 15 balls as Vipraj Nigam got the crucial wicket. Bahir remained the top scorer, scoring 57 runs off 52 balls at a scoring rate of 109.61, which included four fours and a six.

After both the established batsmen were dismissed, Afghanistan A could not recover. The innings was bowled out for 218 runs in 36.5 overs. Sindhu returned to the lower order, completing a comfortable victory for India A with impressive figures of 31/4 in 6.5 overs.

India A Post A Strong Total

Earlier, India A were asked to bat first by the Afghanistan A captain. Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya gave their team a strong start, putting pressure on the Afghanistan bowlers. Suryavanshi was a bit cautious by his usual standards, scoring 135.71 runs with four fours and two sixes. A good short delivery from Faridun Daudzai ended his aggressive innings as he mistimed a hook shot and was caught out at point.

Arya continued to bat well and reached his half-century (42 off 58 balls) before being caught out at point. Vice-captain Ruturaj Gaikwad contributed a useful 30 runs, but was dismissed by a terrible catch on the leg side.

India needed a strong partnership and got it from keeper Kumar Kushagra and captain Tilak. The pair added 104 runs for the fourth wicket to take India past 300. Tilak’s 59 came off 75 balls with five fours, while Kushagre hit an equal number of fours in his 58 off 67 balls. Nishant Sindhu (21* off 26 balls) and Vipraj Nigam (30 off 20 balls) both took India A to a strong score of 319/9, which was too much for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Bowling Effort

Faridun Daudzai, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Farmanullah Safi took two wickets each.

Faridun Daudzai took 2 wickets for 74 runs in 8 overs, while Abdullah Ahmadzai took 2 wickets for 62 runs in his full 10 overs. Farmanullah Safi also took 2 wickets for 62 runs in 9 overs.

Zaheer Khan took 1 wicket in 10 overs, while Shams ur Rahman took 47 runs without taking a single wicket in 10 overs.

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