Watch: Rashid Khan congratulates Afghanistan A after winning maiden Emerging Teams Asia Cup title

Afghanistan A created history on October 27 as they clinched their first-ever ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup title, defeating Sri Lanka A by seven wickets in the finals at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman.

The victory sparked joy across the Afghan cricket community, with national team stars including Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Hashmatullah Shahidi, and coach Jonathan Trott celebrating the historic moment.

Rashid shared a video of the senior team's overjoyed reaction to the victory on his social media account and captioned it as "Champions well-done boys congratulations everyone 🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫."

Also Read: Twitter Reactions: Afghanistan crush Sri Lanka to clinch Emerging Asia Cup 2024

Afghanistan A defeated Sri Lanka A by seven wickets

Afghanistan A showed consistency throughout the tournament. Their campaign included victories over India in the semifinals, with their only setback being a group-stage loss to Hong Kong. 

In the summit clash, Afghanistan's bowling display was at its best as they restricted Sri Lanka A to 133/7. Young talents Allah Ghazanfar and Bilal Sami were the architects of Sri Lanka's top-order collapse, sharing five wickets between them. Ghazanfar's figures of 2/14 in four overs, along with Sami's three-wicket haul, made things easier for their team.

In the run chase, despite losing opener Zubaid Akbari on the first ball, Sediqullah Atal, who has earned a call-up to the national T20I squad for the Bangladesh series, continued his brilliant form with an unbeaten 55 off 55, making his sixth consecutive T20 half-century. Furthermore, captain Darwish Rasooli (24 off 20), Karim Janat (33 off 27), and Mohammad Ishaq's 16 off 6 balls helped the side seal the game with 11 balls to spare.

After five failed attempts, the Afghan side finally lifted the coveted title in the sixth edition of the tournament. Afghanistan A's victory puts them to an illustrious list of winners, following India U23 (2013), Sri Lanka U23 (2017, 2018), Pakistan U23 (2019), and Pakistan A (2023).