ACC U-19 Asia Cup 2023: All-round Arshin Kulkarni stars in India's seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan

Arshin Kulkarni dished out an all-round performance as India defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets in the opening game of the 2023 ACC U-19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Friday. Maharashtra’s Kulkarni was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3/29 as the ‘Colts in Blue’ bowled the Afghans out for 173 at the ICC Academy in Dubai after opting to field. Fellow seamer Raj Limbani (3/46) also collected three wickets while left-arm quick Naman Tiwari finished with tidy figures of 2/30 and collected two maidens along the way. Spinners Murugan Abhishek and Musheer Khan collected a wicket each. For the Afghans, Jamshid Zadran was the only batter to cross 30, top-scoring for his side with a patient 43 off 75 deliveries that included four boundaries, stitching a 49-run second-wicket stand with Sohil Khan. Kulkarni would then star with the bat, coming to his side’s rescue after they lost a couple of early wickets and were reduced to 2/32. The opener brought the Indians back on their feet with a 44-run third-wicket stand with skipper Uday Saharan before sealing the deal for his side with an unbroken 98-run fourth wicket-stand with Musheer Khan. Kulkarni struck four boundaries in his unbeaten 70 off 105 deliveries while Musheer, who happens to be Delhi Capitals and Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan’s brother, remained unbeaten on 48 off 53 deliveries, collecting three fours along the way.

Glimpses of India-U19 vs Afghanistan-U19 fixture.#ACCMensU19AsiaCup #ACC pic.twitter.com/XKImgtZXIb

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For the Afghans, Bashir Ahmed drew first blood by having Adarsh Singh dismissed for 14 while fellow seamer Khalel Ahmad and off-spinner Wahidullah Zadran also collected a wicket each. In the other fixture that took place on Friday, Pakistan defeated Nepal, also by seven wickets, to collect their first points of the campaign. Seamer Mohammad Zeeshan starred for the Pakistanis with a destructive 6/19 that restricted Nepal to a modest 152. Zeeshan would also score an unbeaten 20 off eight deliveries that included two fours and as many sixes after Azan Awais (56 not out) and skipper Saad Baig (50) struck half-centuries to put the Men in Green in the driving seat. India, who have won the tournament eight times in nine editions, face Pakistan in their next match on Sunday.