India A Vs Afghanistan A Highlights, ODI Tri-Nation Series: DLS Helps Afghan Atalans Edge Men In Blue Out By 4 Runs

Good Morning and welcome to our live coverage of the second match of the ODI Tri-Nation Series as India A take on Afghanistan A in Dambulla. Stay tuned for more updates.

India A: Prabhsimran Singh(w), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Priyansh Arya, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma(c), Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Anukul Roy, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan, Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kumar Kushagra, Nishant Sindhu

Afghanistan A: Imran Mir(c), Noor ul Rahman(w), Hassan Eisakhil, Bahir Shah, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Farmanullah Safi, Shams Ur Rahman, Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Mohammad Ibrahim, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Khalid Taniwal, Ishaq Rahimi, Faisal Khan Ahmadzai

The India A Vs Afghanistan A, ODI Tri-Series match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network and will be live streamed on Sony LIV app and website.

Dambulla is expected to experience warm and humid conditions throughout the match. Temperatures are likely to hover between 29°C and 32°C during the morning and afternoon hours, with partly cloudy skies prevailing. There remains a slight chance of brief showers later in the day, but no major weather interruptions are currently forecast.

Afghanistan A won the toss and opted to bowl first.

India A: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma(c), Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Arshad Khan, Vipraj Nigam, Anukul Roy, Anshul Kamboj

Afghanistan A: Imran Mir(c), Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Bahir Shah, Ishaq Rahimi(w), Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Mohammad Ibrahim, Farmanullah Safi

It's game time in Dambulla! Prabhsimran Singh and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stride out to open the innings for India A after opting to bat first. Prabhsimran will take first strike, while Afghanistan A hand the new ball to Mohammad Ibrahim.

India A have raced to 24/0 after just two overs, and once again it's Vaibhav Sooryavanshi making an immediate impact. The teenage opener does the same what he did in the previous match, smashing a boundary off the very first ball he faced, showing fearless intent from the outset.

India A are off to a blazing start, reaching 50/0 in just five overs, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leading the charge in spectacular fashion. The youngster has raced to 31 off 15 balls, peppering the boundary rope with a series of crisp strokes and putting Afghanistan A's bowlers under immense pressure.

Afghanistan A have finally found the breakthrough they desperately needed, ending Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's entertaining knock on 44 off just 22 balls. The teenage opener looked set for another whirlwind fifty, smashing nine boundaries and dominating the powerplay before a lapse in concentration cost him. Attempting an ambitious guide off a short ball from Abdullah Ahmadzai, Vaibhav only managed an edge through to the wicketkeeper.

Afghanistan A have struck again just as India A looked set to run away with the game. Priyansh Arya's brief cameo ends on 8 off 9 balls, with the left-hander failing to capitalize after his eye-catching six earlier. Attempting to cut a length delivery from Abdullah Ahmadzai, Priyansh couldn't keep the shot down and picked out the fielder at point. Ahmadzai continues to be Afghanistan's standout bowler, claiming his second wicket of the innings and providing his side with a much-needed breakthrough.

India A continue to cruise along at a healthy rate, reaching 128/2 after 15 overs with Prabhsimran Singh bringing up a well-crafted half-century. The opener has expertly converted his strong start into a substantial innings, mixing aggression with smart strike rotation to remain unbeaten on 59. At the other end, Ruturaj Gaikwad is settling in nicely after arriving at the crease following the early wickets.

Just as the partnership between Prabhsimran Singh and Ruturaj Gaikwad was looking threatening and it was seeming that they could take the match away from the Afghans, leg-spinner Imran Mir strikes to get the priced wicket of Prabhsimran, who missed his century by just 16 runs. It was a drag down delivery on the leg side and Singh tried to take full advantage of it but could only manage to get a slight edge and the wicket-keeper took a good catch to finish the proceedings.

There were cloud covers throughout the match and eventually the the clouds have opened up and it's started to rain heavily in Dambulla. The umpires have called for the covers and we can expect a long-break here.

IND 174/3 (24.3)

The players have made their way back into the field as the rain subsides and the covers are off. There has been no deduction of overs and Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma will have to restart their innings from the start and forge a big partnership to try and take their team to a massive first innings total.

The match is now 49-over a side because of time lost due to rain break.

Vice-captain and last match's centurion, Ruturaj Gaikwad brings another strong performance as he slams a half-century in 65 balls. His partnership with skipper Tilak Varma is now 58-run strong. India are cruising here and if Afghanistan don't get quick wickets from here then India might bat them out of the match here by posting a massive first innings total.

Double wicket over! Afghanistan make a comeback in the match with a double-wicket over and it's Farmanullah Safi, who made the inroads in India A's middle-order. First it was the half-centurion, Ruturaj Gaikwad who attempted a pull short of a short wicket but the ball hurried onto him and he could only manage to give an easy catch to the square leg fielder. Ayush Badoni nicked his first ball into the hands of the wicket-keeper to bring AFG back in the game.

India A skipper, Tilak Varma brings up his 60-ball fifty and hold the innings from one end. He will well-complemented by Suryansh Shedge, who reached to 21 runs and both the batters have forged an unbeaten stand of 46 runs for the sixth wicket. With both batters well set, we could expect some fireworks in the last six overs to take India A to a commanding first innings score.

India A take 13 runs from the last over to end the first innings at a staggering 349/8, leaving a stiff target of 350 runs for the Afghan batters in 49 overs. Tilak Varma and Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 66 each and scripted a 78-run stand to play a major role in taking their team to a strong total, while teenagers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also slammed a fiery 44-run knock to provide India A a brisk start.

Positive signs from Dambulla! Play was expected to resume around now, and the situation is improving with only the square still under covers. The rain has eased, the skies look much brighter, and the groundstaff have already begun peeling back the covers.

Good news from the covers as the rain has halted and covers are now coming off, indicating that the start of the second innings must be around the corner.

Afghanistan A openers - Hassan Eisakhil and Imran Mir begin their chase of a mammoth 350 runs in 49 overs. Both batters have got their team to a positive start, scoring 22 runs from the first three overs. Though the wickets has got better to bat on after a brisk shower, yet it's a huge chase that the Afghan batter have at their hands.

Afghanistan openers - Hassan Eisakhil and Imran Mir give their team a solid start in a staggering 350-run chase. The pitch has gotten better to bat on and the Indian pacers have erred in their line and lengths quite frequently, leading to Afghan openers capitalizing on the bad balls and giving them next batters a strong foundation to build on.

AFG 53/0 (7)

India made a mini-comeback in the second innings by picking back-to-back wickets, however, Imran Mir and Bahir Shah have stabilized Afghanistan's innings and have stitched an unbeaten 46-run stand for the third wicket to bring the game back in balance. However, the target is still stiff for the Afghans as they still need 164 runs in 19 overs.

AFG 132/2 (19)

The third wicket stand between Imran Mir and Bahir Shah is now 103 runs strong. Imran has led the Afghanistan's chase so far with his majestic stroke play and is currently batting at 75 off 69 ball. He is well-complemented by Bahir Shah (46*). Though, the match is still stacked in India's favor as the Afghan Atalans still need 122 runs to win in 76 balls.

AFG 176/2 (25.2)

The players are off the field and the covers are on as it's raining currently in Dambulla. Afghanistan are ahead by 3 runs in the game at the current and if no play happens today, then it would be Afghanistan's game. While the play is halted, one over is being deducted for every 4 minutes.

The rain didn't subside, and the match was called off! A big moment for Afghanistan as they beat a star-studded India A side by 4 runs (DLS method). Afghanistan were 177/2 in 25.5 overs in the pursuit of 294 runs in 38 overs when the rain came pouring in. Afghanistan were four runs ahead of the par score, and the remaining match couldn't take place after that, leading to Afghanistan edging India out by 4 runs.

That's a wrap! That's a wrap from our end, we'll be back soon with another blog, until then, bye bye.