In the inaugural four-day encounter, India A defeated South Africa A by three wickets in Bengaluru on Sunday thanks to late order batters’ tenacious little knocks around captain Rishabh Pant’s brilliant centerpiece act of 90.
India A is ahead 1-0 in the two-match series; the second game is set to take place on Thursday at the BCCI CoE grounds.
Ayush Badoni struck a respectable 34 from 47 balls, while Pant hammered a fantastic 90, hitting 11 fours and four sixes in his 113-ball knock. Together, they added 63 runs in 12 overs, helping India A get off to a very erratic overnight score of 119/4.
At the start of the day, India required 166 runs to reach the target of 275, but Pant and Badoni took an aggressive stance to overhaul the target.
On the second ball of the day, Pant hit pacer Okuhle Cele for a six. He then followed that one-handed drive with two guided fours to the third man area. In the first over of the day, Cele conceded 14 runs.
With runs coming in at a rate of six runs per over, it set the tone for the remainder of their fifth wicket partnership. At this point, the South Africans raised the proportion of short-pitched deliveries after realizing the foolishness of bowling longer.
Lesego Senokwane rushed in from second slip when Pant mishandled the pull shot off Tiaan Van Vuuren, who had already been hurried by a few snorters. Senokwane, who had dropped Pant on 80 off Prenelan Subrayen behind front short leg, was quite relieved.
However, before selecting the senior team for the two-match Test series against South Africa later this month, the manner Pant batted in the second innings and kept for 139.3 overs in the match may have been a happy portent.
After playing a fluid flick off Tshepo Meraki, Badoni was caught at deep fine leg because he was unable to control his pull off a well-directed bouncer from Van Vuuren. Tanush Kotian appeared certain throughout his 30-ball 23, but he was dismissed a few overs before lunch because he was unable to manage Lutho Sipamala’s hook stroke.
India finished at 216/7 after adding 101 runs in the first session but losing three crucial wickets. Manav Suthar (20 not out) and Anshul Kamboj (37 not out) gave India the fight they needed with 59 runs remaining to win.
During his visit, Kamboj also showed a great deal of bravery. Van Vuuren employed bouncers to tell effect on the day after pinging the right-hander on the side of his helmet, necessitating an instant examination by the medical personnel team.
However, Kamboj demonstrated his purpose by playing two pull shots for a six and a four off the same bowler in the immediate aftermath. Later, Suthar was also struck in the shoulder by Van Vuuren and had to go through a required examination.
India was still 60 runs away from home as Kotian made his way back to the hut, and the eighth wicket duo was capable of finishing. Even though edges frequently eluded fielders, they were resilient enough to persevere till the winning moment, when Suthar lifted Subrayen over mid-wicket for a boundary.
