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New Delhi: India A made a brilliant comeback, defeating Oman by six wickets to qualify for the semifinals of the Rising Stars Asia Cup at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. After a disappointing defeat against Pakistan A in their last outing, this performance could provide Jitesh Sharma’s team a big boost ahead of the knockout stage.
Chasing a target of 136 runs on a surface that offered enough help for the spin bowlers, India got off to a disappointing start. Priyansh Arya departed cheaply for 10 runs while Vaibhav Suryavanshi was removed by Jay Odedra for 12 runs, leaving India reeling at 28/2.
Naman Dhir and Harsh Dubey stabilised India's innings after the poor start. Dhir played aggressive strokes, smashing a brisk 30 runs off 19 balls to shift the momentum back to India’s way. But Dubey batted well and stitched two important stands with both Dhir and Nehal Wadhera.
He scored an unbeaten 53 runs off 44 deliveries, smashing his maiden fifty in T20 cricket. Wadhera also scored 23 runs off 24 balls as India chased down the target in 17.5 overs.
Earlier, Indian bowlers set up the win with a disciplined performance that restricted Oman to 135/7 in 20 overs. Vijaykumar Vyshak removed a dangerous-looking Hammad Mirza, who scored a quick 32 runs off 16 balls.
After that, the spinners took over the game as in-form Suyash Sharma broke Oman's momentum by removing Karan Sonavale for 12 runs. Naman Dhir also picked up a wicket as Oman continue to lose wickets at regular intervals.
Despite a brilliant fifty from Wasim Ali (53 off 44), Oman struggled to accelerate and were consistently held by the Indian bowlers. With this victory, India A booked their spot in the semifinal, where they will take on the Group A toppers on Friday, November 21.
