Rising Asia Cup: Top-order form key as India A faces B’desh in semis

DOHA: India A will need a heftier contribution from their top-order batters to support the in-form Vaibhav Suryavanshi when they take on a tricky Bangladesh A in their Rising Stars Asia Cup semi-final here on Friday.

Suryavanshi, the second highest run-maker with 201 runs in this T20 event, has done most of the heavy-lifting with the bat while making a blistering hundred and 45.

But other batters in the line-up such as skipper Jitesh Sharma, Naman Dhir, Priyansh Arya and Nehal Wadhera have not exactly set the tournament ablaze so far.

A far more rounded outing from batters is mandatory against Bangladesh as the latter is not a team to be taken lightly.

They have bowled out a capable Afghanistan A side, which included Allah Ghazanfar and Sediqullah Atal, for a paltry 78 and then stretched a strong Sri Lanka A all the way till the last over of a league match.

So, India will have to get their act together against pacer Ripon Mondol and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan, recent additions to Bangladesh's senior T20 sides.

India's bowling, however, has been in top shape in this tournament. Left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh is the leading Indian bowler with five wickets from three outings.

Gurjapneet has received reasonable backing from left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey and leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, who have taken three wickets apiece from as many matches.