Spinner Akshar Patel did the star turn for India Under-23 as they fought their way back from a tough situation to set up a title clash with Pakistan after a 46-run win over United Arab Emirates in the semi-finals of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup, on Friday.
In what turned out to be another low-scoring match, the Indian colts defended a modest 208 as the opposition folded for 162 runs in 48.3 overs.
Nineteen-year-old left-arm spinner Patel (4/29) snared three wickets for three runs in as many overs to trigger a collapse that saw UAE folding up for 162 after being comfortably placed at 97/1 at one stage.
Manpreet Juneja (76) top-scored for India. Juneja’s was a laboured knock that mostly comprised running between the wickets — his runs came in 121 balls with a solitary boundary in the form of a six.
UAE’s innings had sunk too deep in trouble to recover and eventually they fell short of their target by some way as besides Anwar and Patil none of their batsmen managed to breach the 20-run mark.
In the final, India U-23 will now meet Pakistan U-23 — who defeated Sri Lanka U-23 by one wicket in the second semi-final.
Scores
India U-23 208 in 49.5 overs (Juneja 76, Aziz 5/51) bt UAE 162 in 48.3 overs (Anwar 44; Patel 4/29).