Pakistan A vs India A, Final at Colombo, ACC Emerging, Jul 23 2023 - Match Result

9.52pm And the players gather up to lift the trophy as more fireworks go up and loud cheers fill the skies! The players take turns to lift the trophy. And then they lift it up together. Queen's "We Will Rock You" blares on the speakers, although the Pakistan players have probably moved over to the "We Are The Champions" phase of the evening! Right then, that wraps up proceedings here today. We got to see a champion performance from a champion team, who came out swinging right from the word go and did not back down at any point. Congratulations to Pakistan A for this impressive win, and to the India A players as well for their impressive showing in the tournament. On behalf of Shashank and Sudeep, this is Abhimanyu signing off.

9.34pm Time for the presentation ceremony.

Mohammad Haris, the Pakistan captain: "Firstly, I would like to congratulate all of Pakistan. This is what happens, when you score big runs in a final, the opposition comes under pressure and then if you get back-to-back wickets it gets tough for them. We had tried different combinations in the last four-five matches, tried different players, and it worked well for us. We had shown the videos of the Indian batters to our bowlers. Sai Sudharsan and Abhishek were their main players and we thought that if we could get them out early, it would help us. I am very happy with how the boys are motivated. We have the Asia Cup also coming up and the World Cup too after that. Sri Lanka is a tough place to play spin. So it was good preparation."

And now the Pakistan players collect their winners' medals!

India A captain, Yash Dhull: "They batted very well, we controlled it well in the middle, but they batted well. It was a big target but we played some poor shots. The decision was okay, but they batted well and the wicket was also fresh. We played some bad shots [at three wickets down] and went down from there. None of us have played international cricket so it was a good platform for us to play and a good environment."

The India A players now come and receive their runners-up medals.

Player of the tournament, for his 11 wickets in the tournament, is Nishant Sindhu: "It felt good playing the tournament. There were many competitive teams so it feels good to perform. We tried to win today as well, but we couldn't unfortunately. Today the wicket was better to bat on so I was just trying to bowl dot balls and create pressure. The mood in the camp was normal. We were just looking to go out there and play according to the situation."

The player of the match is, without surprise, Tayyab Tahir. Here's what he has to say: "It's the efforts of all the players and the coach, that at the start we decided we will get a flow and lot let it go. So even when we lost some wickets, we did not want to take the foot off the pedal. Mudasir had a good plan, that we will slow the momentum out. Their bowlers were on top, with some quick wickets. So we planned to slow it down and once set, we'd take the charge. We keep trying, and there are so many good batters and not everyone gets a century so it's a blessing."

Firstly, the umpires get some mementos.

Since I've been in the mood for bold predictions today, here's one from USman: "Well played Shaheen's, this is the start of Pak team dominance in 50 overs in 2023, asia cup and CWC to follow, Pak will be crowned champions of em all! Save this for later guys!!"

"Interestingly India made the same score Bangladesh made against Pakistan in the 2019 ACC Emerging Cup final. Pakistan posted a 300 target then as well." Good observation, Haf.

9.27pm Pakistan become champions for the second time in a row in this competition as they beat India by 128 runs. The openers Saim Ayub and Farhan laid down the platform with a century-stand, and Omair Yousuf then continued the momentum. But India came back with quick wickets to leave Pakistan five down, but Tayyab Tahir's swashbuckling century powered Pakistan to a mammoth total of 352. India started well, but once Sai Sudharsan was out, they kept losing wickets in clusters. Dhull and Abhishek Sharma put together a handy partnership, but Pakistan's spinners ran through the Indian middle and lower middle order. Sufiyan Muqeem and Mehran Mumtaz were both excellent.

Saim Ayub: "We had a simple plan that we have to play with fearless intent. Of course it's a big match but we wanted to play it like a simple match and put the opposition under pressure. We planned that we never let our tempo fall and play fearless cricket."

Omair Yousuf: "Our plan, because we had lost to India before, we had a new plan. We tried to play with the intent we had planned on. We try that whatever match is there, we execute our plans."

Mohammad Wasim: "This was a team effort because of which we won. The wicket was a little flat so we planned that we need a big score to get a result."

Asad: "Such is the recent dominance of India against Pakistan that even such a strong position is not making my anxiety level any better.....come on just finsh it up." I'd say, ease up now, Asad. This game is all but a formality

Around the wicket now

Sujeet: "Abhishek Sharma's all-round performance and Nishant Sindhu with the ball are the biggest positives for India." Add Sudharsan's batting and Suthar's bowling as well!

MAB: "Oh wow… I stopped following this match after Haris got out. I am very surprised to see how Tahir build up his innings and the way bowlers bowled today. Truly amazing performance."

Around the wicket now

Mohammad Wasim Jr returns as Pakistan look to seal the deal

Tahir having a chat with an official. A few smiles and chuckles.