All-rounder Maaz Sadaqat scored an unbeaten half-century after taking two wickets as Pakistan Shaheens defeated India A in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars match in Doha on Sunday.
Pakistan chased 137 with eight wickets in hand to top Group B and qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing tournament.
Pakistan got off to a strong start as openers Maaz Sadaqat and Mohammad Naeem scored freely, putting pressure on the Indian bowlers early on.
Sadaqat was in sublime form, regularly pushing the boundaries and helping the openers reach 50 runs at the fifth over.
The 56-run partnership was broken in the sixth over when Yash Thakur dismissed Naeem, who scored 14 off 10 balls, including a four and a six.
Sadaqat continued his good form, registering back-to-back fifties in the tournament and anchoring the innings as Pakistan reached 77-1 in seven overs.
Yasir Khan joined Sadaqat at the crease and started scoring, but India fought back and claimed his wicket after 11 runs off nine balls, including two boundaries.
Mohammad Faiq then joined Sadaqat as Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark in the 10th over and moved closer to their second win of the tournament.
Sadaqat continued to dominate, hitting successive boundaries alongside Faiq as Pakistan raced to 130-2 in 13 overs.
The Green Shirts chased down the total in the 14th over, with Sadaqat remaining unbeaten on 79 off 47 deliveries with the help of seven fours and four sixes. Faiq ended the match with a six, scoring 16 off 14 balls.
After being asked to bat first, India got off to an aggressive start as opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi attacked the Pakistani bowlers from the very first ball and hit multiple boundaries.
However, Shahid Aziz made an early breakthrough by dismissing Priyansh Arya for 10 runs off nine balls, leaving India at 30-1 in 3.2 overs.
Naman Dhir joined Suryavanshi and steadied the innings, taking the team over the 50-run mark in the sixth. The duo maintained an attacking approach, piling on and keeping Pakistan under pressure.
Their partnership ended when Saad Masood dismissed Naman for 35 off 20 balls, including six fours and a six, leaving India at 79-2 in 8.4 overs.
Suryavanshi continued to dominate and looked set for a half-century, but was eventually dismissed by Sufiyan Muqeem for 45 off 28 balls, with five fours and three sixes.
Indian skipper Jitesh Sharma fell cheaply for five off nine deliveries to Maaz Sadaqat to leave the side at 101-4 in 12.1 overs.
The momentum shifted decisively in Pakistan’s favor as wickets fell at regular intervals. Saad Masood removed Ashutosh Sharma for a duck, followed by Maaz Sadaqat dismissing Nehal Wadhera for eight, leaving India reeling at 104-6 in 14.1 overs.
Ubaid Shah picked up Ramandeep Singh (11 off nine, including a six), while Harsh Dubey tried to add crucial runs.
However, the wickets continued to tumble as Ahmed Daniyal dismissed Yash Thakur (2 off 4), Shahid Aziz claimed Dubey (19 off 15) and Suyash Sharma fell for a duck, completing India’s collapse at 136 in 19 overs.
For Pakistan Shaheens, Shahid Aziz played with figures of 3/24 in three overs. Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood claimed two wickets each, while Ubaid Shah, Ahmed Daniyal and Sufiyan Muqeem scored a wicket each.
