Ramandeep Singh took a stunning catch against Pakistan A© X (Twitter)
Ramandeep Singh left everyone stunned with a sensational catch during the Emerging Asia Cup clash between India A and Pakistan A on Saturday. During the much-anticipated encounter, Pakistan A opener Yasir Khan was looking in fine form after scoring 33 off 22 balls. Yasir went for a big shot through mid-wicket but Ramandeep sprinted towards the boundary and pulled off a perfect dive to complete the catch. The effort left everyone stunned with former India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik taking to to X (formerly Twitter) to label it as "one of the greatest catches ever by an Indian."
Coming to the match, India's top order fired in unison as it posted 183 for 8 with Tilak Verma top-scoring with a 35-ball 44 after opting to bat.
Pacers Anshul Kamboj (3/33) and Rasikh Salam (2/30) and spinner Nishant Sindhu (2/15) shared eight wickets amongst themselves to restrict Pakistan to 176/7.
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 19, 2024
Not only did India shine with the bat and ball, they also delivered an impressive performance in the field, particularly through Ramandeep Singh, who made a stunning catch and saved vital runs in the closing moments.
Openers Abhishek Sharma (35 off 22) and Prabhsimran Singh (36 off 19) unleashed an aggressive assault on the pace attack, sending the ball flying across the field.
Abhishek slapped consecutive boundaries in the first over, while Prabhsimran followed suit by dispatching Zaman Khan for a four and a six in the next over, setting a vibrant tone.
Together, they struck eight boundaries and five sixes, propelling India A to an impressive 68 without loss during the Powerplay.
However, the introduction of spin after the Powerplay slowed their momentum, leading to the loss of both Abhishek and Prabhsimran in quick succession. This brought skipper Verma (44) and Nehal Wadhera (25) to the crease.
As the pitch became increasingly sluggish, Verma took on the anchor role, while Wadhera and Ramandeep (17) found the boundaries.
After losing two wickets to the pace of all-rounder Anshul Kamboj early in the chase, Yasir Khan (33) and Qasim Akram (27) began to attack fiercely.
However, a spectacular catch by Ramandeep at deep midwicket broke their partnership, dismissing Yasir. In the same over, left-arm spinner Nishant made his mark by removing Akram.
Arafat Minhas top-scored for Pakistan with 29-ball 41 but it was Abdul Samad who blazed away to 25 off 15 balls.
Samad walked in when Pakistan needed 58 more to win but the 26-year-old hit a six and two back-to-back boundaries off Vaibhav Arora in the 16th over to bring down the equation to 42 off 24 balls.
Samad continued to chip in with Pakistan needing 17 off the last over but the big-hitter was sent marching off the first ball by Anshul with India completing a memorable win.
(With PTI inputs)