JE Sports Desk: Abhishek Sharma and Sai Sudharsan slammed half-centuries to register a dominating nine-wicket win over Nepal in the ongoing ACC Men's Emerging Cup at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.
India A secured their second straight win in the tournament and qualified for the semifinals in the eight-team competition.
Chasing a mediocre target of 168, the opening pair of Sharma and Sudharsan stitched a 139-run partnership and set the tone of the chase. Sharma departed after scoring 87 off 69 studded with two sixes and 12 fours. Sudharsan remained unbeaten on 58* off 52 balls including eight fours and a six while Dhruv Jurel was not out on 21* as India A chased the target in 22.1 overs.
India are at the top of the table in Group B with four points and a thumping net run rate of 3.792. India defeated UAE A in their opening clash of the continental cup on Friday.
Earlier, Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first. Nishant Sandhu wreak havoc as he picked 4-14 in his 3.2 overs to bundle Nepal for 167 in 39.2 overs.
Apart from Sandhu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar picked three scalps while Harshit Rana and Manav Suthar grabbed two and one wicket respectively.
Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel managed to score fifty for his side and was the top-scorer as he made 65 off 85 balls while Gulsan Jha made a 30-ball 38 to steer his side to a respectable total.
In their last league match, India A will take on arch-rivals Pakistan A on Wednesday, July 19.