Lucknow Super Giants youngster Ayush Badoni showed his wide repertoire of strokes as India cantered to a six-wicket victory over Oman to set-up a semi-final date with Afghanistan A in the ACC Emerging Asia Cup in Al Amerat on Wednesday. Badoni smashed 51 off 27 balls as India A reached the target of 141 in just 15.2 overs to finish their group B league engagements with an all-win record. The talented Delhi right-hander’s footwork against spinners was impressive as he danced down the track to loft a spinner over extra-cover for a six apart from executing the reverse slog sweep to perfection.

He also back-cut one of the Omani pacers behind square. In all, he hit six fours and two sixes and was dismissed when India were just a few runs short of victory target.

Senior T20 team opener Abhishek Sharma blasted 34 off just 15 balls to start the chase in earnest while skipper Tilak Varma (36 not out off 30 balls) dropped anchor at one end letting Badoni hog the limelight.

Earlier, Varma used as many as eight bowlers against the senior Oman team with five of them getting a wicket apiece.

The key were left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (1/21 in 4 overs) and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (0/20 in 4 overs) who cumulatively gave away just 41 runs in their eight overs during the middle phase.

India A vs Oman Highlights, ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024: India A completed a hat-trick of wins before entering the semi-finals of ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024. While the first two victories over Pakistan A and United Arab Emirates assured India of a semi-final spot, the third win against Oman further stamped their authority. Led by Mohammad Nadeem’s 41-run knock, Oman staged a remarkable comeback and posted 140 for 5 on the board after opting to bat first. Aaqib Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Ramandeep Singh, Sai Kishore and Rasikh Dar Salam picked a wicket each for India A. However, the target of 141 failed to challenge Tilak Varma and co. as they chased it down in 15.2 overs. Ayush Badoni top-scored with 51 off 27. (Scorecard)

India A (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma(c), Anuj Rawat(w), Nehal Wadhera, Ayush Badoni, Ramandeep Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Chahar, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Rasikh Dar Salam, Aaqib Khan

Oman (Playing XI): Jatinder Singh(c), Aamir Kaleem, Karan Sonavale, Wasim Ali, Hammad Mirza(w), Mohammad Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Samay Shrivastava, Siddharth Bukkapatnam, Muzahir Raza, Sandeep Goud

Here are the Highlights of India A vs Oman, ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 match –