Sadaqat the star as Pakistan thump India in Asia Cup Rising Stars tourney

New Delhi: Maaz Sadaqat impressed with bat and ball as Pakistan Shaheens defeated India A by eight wickets in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament in Doha on Sunday, in a match where both teams avoided handshakes with each other.

Pakistan captain Irfan Khan won the toss and opted to field as he and India skipper Jitesh Sharma went their separate ways without shaking hands.

Pakistan then bowled out India for 136 in 19 overs, the lowest score of the tournament so far, before chasing down the score in 13.2 overs, to become the first team to enter the play-offs with their second successive victory.

Opener Maaz Sadaqat (79 not out, 47 balls, 7x4, 4x6) led Pakistan's innings in their chase as Mohammad Naeem (14 runs off 10 balls) and Yasir Khan (11 off 9) were the only two batters dismissed.

India began with a bang as their 14-year-old opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, lifting them to 79/2 in 8.4 overs.

But once the left hander was dismissed for 45 off 28 balls, including five fours and three sixes, in the 10th over with the score at 91/3, India's innings disintegrated as they lost their last eight wickets for 45 runs.

None of the middle and lower order batters could stay at the crease for long as Naman Dhir (35 off 20 balls, 6x4, 1x6) was India's second highest scorer behind Suryavanshi.

All six Pakistani bowlers used picked up wickets with seamer Shahid Aziz (3/24) being the most successful among them. Sadaqat claimed 2/12 in his three overs.

India had come into the contest on the back of a 148-run win, over the UAE. Suryavanshi bludgeoned 144 off only 42 balls, scoring a 32-ball century that was one of the fastest ever by an Indian in men’s T20s.

Pakistan A had won their previous match by 40 runs over Oman.