Around skipper Rishabh Pant’s glittering central act of 90, late order batters played dogged little knocks as India A registered a fighting three-wicket win over South Africa A in the first four-day match here Sunday.
India A now leads the two-match series 1-0, and the second match will be played at the BCCI CoE grounds from next Thursday.
Starting from a rather unsteady 119 for four overnight, the India A were served well early by Pant (90, 113b, 11×4, 4×6) and Ayush Badoni (34, 47 balls) who added 63 runs in 12 overs.
India needed 166 runs when the day began to reach the target of 275, but Pant and Badoni adopted an aggressive approach to whittle down the target.
Pant smashed pacer Okuhle Cele for a six in the second ball of the day, and followed that one-handed shot with two guided fours to third man region. Cele conceded 14 runs in the day’s first over.
It set the tone for the rest of their fifth wicket alliance as runs flowed in at six runs an over.
At this stage, the South Africans realised the folly of bowling fuller length, and increased the percentage of short-pitched deliveries.
Already hurried by a couple of snorters, Pant did not have the required time to execute a pull off Tiaan Van Vuuren, and Lesego Senokwane took the catch rushing in from second slip.
It was a huge relief for Senokwane as he had dropped Pant on 80 off Prenelan Subrayen behind forward short leg.
But the way Pant batted in the second innings and kept for 139.3 overs in the match might have come as a pleasant portend for selectors ahead of naming the senior squad for the two-match Test series against South Africa later this month.
Badoni, who played a fluent flick off Tshepo Meraki, could not keep down his pull off a well-directed bouncer from Van Vuuren, getting caught at deep fine leg.
Tanush Kotian looked set during his 30-ball 23, but he could not control the pull off Lutho Sipamala and was ousted just a couple of overs before lunch.
India added 101 runs in the first session but lost three key wickets to be placed at 216 for seven.
With 59 runs still needed to touch the tape, India needed some fight from its tail, and they found it from Manav Suthar (20 not out) and Anshul Kamboj (37 not out).
Kamboj was quite brave during his stay too. The right-hander was pinged on the side of his helmet by Van Vuuren, who used bouncers to telling effect on the day, which required an immediate check-up from the team medical staff.
But Kamboj played two pull shots in the immediate aftermath off the same bowler for a six and a four to underline his intent.
Later, Suthar too was hit on his shoulder by Van Vuuren, and underwent a mandatory inspection.
When Kotian walked back to the hut, India were still 60 runs away from home and the eighth wicket pair was up to the task.
They were not always comfortable as edges often eluded fielders but showed enough spunk to stay on till the moment of victory, which came when Suthar lifted Subrayen over mid wicket for a boundary.
