Skipper Karun Nair anchored a tricky chase with a polished 90 as India A beat South Africa A by six wickets in the second ‘unofficial’ Test to level the two-match series 1-1, PTI reported.
Chasing a target of 224, India A took 62.3 overs to cross the line in 62.3 overs as Nair got rid of his wretched form hitting 13 boundaries in 144 balls.
Nair’s state-mate and opener Ravikumar Samarth (55), hit his second half-century of the match and added crucial 74 runs for the third wicket with Nair.
The match-winning stand was the 93 runs for the 4th wicket between Nair and Ankit Bawne (32). Bawne held one end, consuming 92 balls hitting five boundaries in the process.
When Nair was finally gone, India needed only two runs for victory.
However, the Indian bowlers deserve more credit for setting up the victory as they bowled out South Africa for 177 in the second innings. The hosts lost their last five wickets for just 39 runs.
Right-arm pacer Ankit Rajpoot (3/15) and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (3/47) shared bulk of the spoils. Nadeem was the most impressive among the Indian bowlers with a haul of 11 wickets from the two ‘Tests’.
Interestingly, during their tour of 2013, India had won the ‘A’ tri-series and drew the two ‘unofficial’ Tests 1-1.
Brief Scores
South Africa A: 322 & 177 (Stephen Cook 70, Shahbaz Nadeem 3/47, Ankit Rajpoot 3/15) lost to India A: 276 & 226/4 (Karun Nair 90, Ravikumar Samarth 55) by 6 wickets.