India A secured a narrow victory over Pakistan Shaheens, winning by seven runs in the Emerging Teams T20 Asia Cup match held at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat, Oman, on Saturday.
Chasing a target of 184 runs, the Pakistani side, led by Mohammad Haris, fell short, managing only 176 runs despite strong performances from Yasir Khan, Arafat Mihas, and Abdul Samad. For India, Anshul Kamboj and Nishant Sindhu each took two wickets to help secure the win.
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India won the toss and opted to bat first, finishing their innings with 183 runs. The opening pair, Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh, contributed 35 and 36 runs, respectively, while captain Tilak Varma added 44 runs to boost the total. Nehal Wadhera chipped in with 25 runs before being dismissed by Sufiyan Muqeem.
The Mohammad Haris-led Shaheens, placed in Group B, will face the host nation Oman on October 21, followed by a match against the United Arab Emirates on October 23. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals on October 25, with the final scheduled for October 26. Prior to their departure for Oman, the Pakistan Shaheens participated in a five-day training camp at the Hanif Mohammad National High-Performance Centre in Karachi. This is the inaugural edition of the ACC Emerging Teams tournament in T20 format, following previous editions played in List-A format. Pakistan won the tournament in 2019 under Saud Shakeel and again in 2023 under Haris.
