Dubey, Suyash take India A into semi-finals
India A finish second in their group, and will meet the topper of Group A in the semi-final
India A finish second in their group, and will meet the topper of Group A in the semi-final
Scorer: Annayya Goudar | Commentator: Abhijato
9.45pm An ominous message from Jitesh Sharma at the end there. India A has been scratchy in the tournament so far, but whoever faces them in the semi-finals - two matches tomorrow decide the final line-up - will have a big task on their hands to get past a burgeoning side. Afghanistan A take on Hong Kong in the afternoon tomorrow, before Bangladesh A and Sri Lanka A play each other in the evening. Plenty of action and new faces remain, eager to take on the spotlight. Till then, good night from me, Himanshu, and everyone else on the ESPNcricinfo team!
Jitesh Sharma: "We are in a learning phase. We got used to the wicket, and our batters adapted to it. It's a tricky wicket; we assumed it would be a good track, but once you start bowling, you realise it might be a 140-150 wicket. After the loss in the previous match, the boys were taking everything on - I told them to not get so excited, and take it one ball - one wicket - at a time. There was no additional pressure, they were excited and hungry for the win, asking when they will be able to take the field now. [On how the semis might turn out] We'll see when we play the semi-final."
The vice-captain of Oman, Wasim Ali: "Initially, Hammad started really well, but we lost wickets regularly so we couldn't capitalise. The wicket was also hard to play on. It's a young team that we have here, with plenty of debuts for our players here. We played great cricket. We took them till the 18th over despite scoring 135. Overall, the guys are going to learn a lot from this tournament and what they have done here. [On his first T20I fifty] Long due, and feels quite good."
Player of the Match, Harsh Dubey: "Feeling great, good opportunity with the promotion to prove myself. Obviously, I have been batting up the order when I could in age-group cricket. They lessened because of the Impact Player rule, but today, I got a chance and scored the runs. We had a plan that I had to play till the 16th over, so I played like that."
9.30pm The Oman bowlers never quite found their lengths until it was too late. The pitch responded well to slower deliveries and fuller balls, but an off-radar bowling line-up just did not have enough fuel in the tank to seriously challenge India after their batters could only manage 135. Harsh Dubey and Nehal Wadhera made 66 off 55 balls during a fourth-wicket partnership, which did just enough to ensure India A enter the semi-finals. Oman will take heart from the promise they showed in parts throughout this tournament, even managing a strong win, but their loss today shows there are gaps to cover for a young side between now and the T20 World Cup next year. As for India, their tactics - especially sending Dubey in so early - might have backfired, but in the end it has been a good platform for him to show his batting wares in a situation that could have gotten sticky. We will be back soon to hear from the post-match presentation.
Surya: "It's a bit too "harsh" to say Dubey is delaying things." - I see what you did there!
N Wadhera c Shafiq Jan b Bisht 23 (24b 0x4 1x6) SR: 95.83
India A finish second in their group, and will meet the topper of Group A in the semi-final