'Bitter pill to swallow' - Dinesh Karthik reminded of Champions Trophy 2017 final after India A's Emerging Teams Asia Cup final loss

Pakistan A hammered India A by 128 runs in the final of the ACC Mens Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday, July 23 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. After being put in to bat first, Pakistan posted a mammoth score of 352/8 in their allotted 50 overs riding on a scintillating hundred (108 off 71) by Tayyab Tahir.

In reply, India were bundled out for 224 in 40 overs with only Abhishek Sharma providing some resistance with his61 (51). Following an emphatic victory by Pakistan’s young guns, India wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik congratulated the Mohammad Haris-led side and stated that the match was reminiscent of the Champions Trophy 2017 final.

“Well played Pakistan A. Well tried India A. Tough loss. Always a bitter pill to swallow after playing a convincing tournament all the way to the finals .You live and learn 🙂 Were some of you'll reminded of the champions trophy 2017 after this result," Karthik tweeted.

Notably, India’s senior men’s team met the same fate during the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 played at the Oval as they ended up losing the match by a massive margin of 180 runs.

The two games have startling similarities, the first one being Indian captains winning the toss and opting to bowl first. Back in 2017, India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl first similarly in this case India A captain Yash Dhull won the toss and elected to bowl first.

The second similarity is a left-handed Pakistan opener getting a life on a no-ball in the fourth over. Notably, back in 2017, Jasprit Bumrah made Fakhar Zaman edge one straight to wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, however, the opener was called back as Bumrah had overstepped.

Similarly, Rajvardhan Hangargekar made Pakistan opener Saim Ayyub top edge one to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. However, much to India’s misfortune Ayyub was made to continue his innings as the bowler had overstepped.

The other similarities between the two games are Pakistan's opening pair getting involved in a 100-run stand and India losing the game by over 100 runs after beating the arch-rivals comprehensively in the group stage.