Controversy erupted in the India A vs Afghanistan A semi-final of Emerging Teams Asia Cup, as Afghan opener Zubaid Akbari refused to walk back despite being adjudged out caught behind off Aaqib Khan in the 15th over of the innings. (Match Blog | Streaming)
The first ball of Aaqib's third over saw Akbari apparently nicking one to India A 'keeper Prabhsimran Singh. There was a video review, as the umpires checked for the edge. But with no DRS or ultra edge available, there was a big delay.
The decision eventually came in India Blues' favour, but Akbari was livid and unwilling to head back to the dugout. To add to that, the Afghan Abdalyans' coach, too, asked him not to walk back. This led to the Indian camp reacting and a huge discussion between the two dressing rooms.
Eventually, after all that drama, Akbari trudged back, but not before scoring a fabulous 64-run knock off 40 balls. The Afghan openers sent India A on a leather hunt, and the opening stand of 137 runs was amassed in just 14.1 overs.
At the time of writing, the Abdalyans were batting at 198 for the loss of three wickets after 18.4 overs and eyeing a massive total.
Earlier, Afghanistan A captain Darwish Rasooli won the toss and chose to bat first against India A on Friday (October 25).
Playing XIs
India A: Prabhsimran Singh(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma(c), Ayush Badoni, Nehal Wadhera, Ramandeep Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Anshul Kamboj, Rahul Chahar, Rasikh Dar Salam, Aaqib Khan.
Afghanistan A: Sediqullah Atal, Zubaid Akbari, Darwish Rasooli(c), Mohammad Ishaq(w), Karim Janat, Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Abdul Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Qais Ahmad, Bilal Sami.
