Afghanistan A edge India A by four runs in rain-hit Tri-Nation opener

Afghanistan A defeated India A by four runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the opening match of the Tri-Nation A Series in Sri Lanka on Thursday.

The one-day tournament, which features Afghanistan A, India A and Sri Lanka A, got underway earlier this week, with Afghanistan A making a winning start in a match ultimately decided by rain interruptions.

Chasing India A’s target, Afghanistan A were 177 for 2 in 25.5 overs when rain forced players from the field for the final time. At that stage, Afghanistan A were ahead of the DLS par score, giving them a four-run victory when officials called off the match.

The result capped a strong batting performance from Afghanistan A, who recovered from the early loss of two wickets to build a solid partnership between Bahir Shah and Imran. The pair steadily kept the chase on track, rotating the strike effectively while finding timely boundaries.

Imran brought up a well-crafted half-century during the innings, reaching the milestone with a boundary through point. Bahir Shah also reached his fifty shortly before rain halted play, sweeping Vipraj Nigam for four to complete the landmark.

The partnership accelerated as conditions improved. Imran struck a six over square leg off Arshad, while Bahir mixed conventional and reverse sweeps to keep the scoreboard moving. Afghanistan A were 177/2 and three runs ahead of the DLS par score when the weather intervened again.

Despite hopes of a resumption, persistent rain prevented any further play, handing Afghanistan A victory and valuable points in the tournament standings.

The Tri-Nation A Series continues in Sri Lanka with all three sides using the competition to provide international exposure to some of their most promising emerging players.

Named Player of the Match, Afghanistan A captain Imran credited the team’s belief and positive approach.

“It was our first match, and we played natural cricket. Believed in myself and the team for the run chase,” he said.

India A captain Tilak Varma admitted that the rain-affected conditions and DLS calculations ultimately worked against his side.

“We batted well. But unfortunately, the way DLS works… Afghanistan A batted well but at the same time we thought chasing 294 in 38 overs was going to be tough. Bowling isn’t a concern, but we’ll go back to the drawing board. Our goal is to win the next couple of games and make the final,” Tilak said.