Maaz Sadaqat starred with an unbeaten 79 as Pakistan Shaheens defeated India A in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars group stage match at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium, Doha, on Sunday.
Pakistan were bowled out for 137 with eight wickets in hand to top Group B and qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing tournament.
Pakistan started strongly as openers Maaz Sadaqat and Mohammad Naeem scored freely, putting pressure on the Indian bowlers early on.
Sadaqat was in excellent form, finding the boundaries regularly and helping the openers reach 50 runs by the fifth over.
The 56-run partnership was broken in the sixth over when Yash Thakur dismissed Naeem, who scored 14 off 10 balls, including a four and a six.
Sadaqat continued his good form, scoring consecutive fifties in the tournament and anchoring the innings as Pakistan reached 77-1 in seven overs.
Yasir Khan joined Sadaqat at the crease and started scoring, but India fought back, claiming his wicket after 11 runs off nine balls, which included two boundaries.
Mohammad Faiq then joined Sadaqat as Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark in the 10th over, edging steadily closer to their second win of the tournament.
Sadaqat continued to dominate, hitting back-to-back boundaries alongside Faiq as Pakistan raced to 130-2 in 13 overs.
The green jerseys chased down the total in the 14th over, with Sadaqat unbeaten on 79 off 47 deliveries with the help of seven fours and four sixes. Faiq ended the game with a six, scoring 16 off 14 balls.
After being asked to bat first, India started aggressively as opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi attacked the Pakistani bowlers from the very first ball, hitting several boundaries.
However, Shahid Aziz made an early breakthrough, dismissing Priyansh Arya for 10 runs off nine balls, leaving India at 30-1 in 3.2 overs.
Naman Dhir joined Suryavanshi and steadied the innings, guiding the team past the 50-run mark in the sixth over. The duo maintained an aggressive approach, piling on runs and keeping Pakistan under pressure.
Their partnership ended when Saad Masood dismissed Naman for 35 off 20 balls, which included six fours and a six, leaving India at 79-2 in 8.4 overs.
Suryavanshi continued to dominate, looking set for a half-century but was eventually dismissed by Sufiyan Muqeem for 45 off 28 balls, with five fours and three sixes.
India skipper Jitesh Sharma fell cheaply for five off nine deliveries to Maaz Sadaqat, leaving the team at 101-4 in 12.1 overs.
The momentum shifted decisively in Pakistan’s favor as wickets fell at regular intervals. Saad Masood removed Ashutosh Sharma for a duck, followed by Maaz Sadaqat dismissing Nehal Wadhera for eight, leaving India reeling at 104-6 in 14.1 overs.
Ubaid Shah took Ramandeep Singh (11 off nine, including a six) while Harsh Dubey tried to add crucial runs.
However, wickets continued to fall as Ahmed Daniyal dismissed Yash Thakur (2 for 4), Shahid Aziz claimed Dubey (19 off 15) and Suyash Sharma fell for a duck, completing India’s collapse to 136 in 19 overs.
For Pakistan’s Shaheens, Shahid Aziz starred with figures of 3/24 in three overs. Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood claimed two wickets each while Ubaid Shah, Ahmed Daniyal and Sufiyan Muqeem chipped in with one wicket each.
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