India A defeated South Africa A with ease in the first of the two unofficial Test matches. The win came on the final day of the first match which was played at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
India A had to chase down 48 runs in their second innings and did it in style as Shivam Dube smashed two sixes off two balls to seal the win. India ‘A’ endured a mild stutter as skipper Shubman Gill (5), Ankit Bawane (6) and KS Bharat (5) fell in early before Dube (12 not out) and Ricky Bhui (20 not out) completed the formalities for the home team.
South Africa A had scored 164 in the first innings with Marco Jansen making 45 and Shardul Thakur picking 3/29 and K Gowtham picking 3/64. In reply, India A smashed 303 with skipper Shubman Gill making 90, and Jalaj Saxena making 61 runs. Lungi Ngidi and Dane Piedt picked three wickets each for SA A.
In the second do, South Africa A did a little better making 186 with Heinrich Klaasen making 48, Wiaan Mulder making 46 and Zubayr Hamza making 44 runs. Shahbaz Nadeem picked 3/21, while Thakur and Jalaj picked two wickets apiece.
Only 20 overs were possible at the Greenfield Stadium on Wednesday due to overnight rains and a wet outfield, but India ‘A’ snatched four wickets to edge close to victory. Jalaj Saxena was named the Man of the Match for his all-round efforts.
BRIEF SCORES:
SA-A 164 (M JANSEN 45; S THAKUR 3/29) & 186 (H KLAASEN 48; S NADEEM 3/21,J SAXENA 2/22) AND
IND-A 303 (S GILL 90, J SAXENA 61*; L NGIDI 3/50) & 49/3 (R BHUI 20; L NGIDI 2/22)
India A won the match by seven wickets and leads 2-match series 1-0
