With a patiently compiled unbeaten century, captain Manish Pandey guided India ‘A’ to a three-wicket win over South Africa ‘A’ to open their account in the ongoing one-day quadrangular series in Australia. Dhawal Kulkarni (23*), who ably supported his skipper in chasing down 231 runs earlier claimed 4/37 after India ‘A’ elected to field.
Kulkarni dealt the first blow when he had opener Reeza Hendricks edge to Faiz Fazal in the slips in the second over of the game. While Jaydev Unadkat accounted for Heino Kuhn, Hardik Pandya sent back Dane Vilas and later Theunis de Bruyn to leave SA ‘A’ on 88 for four.
However, David Miller joined forces with Qaasim Adams to help post a healthy total. The pair put together 110 runs for the fifth wicket until Adams found Kedar Jadhav at deep mid-wicket off Unadkat. Seven runs later, Miller departed hitting Kulkarni to long on. The pacer then claimed two more to help keep the opposition to 230.
Chasing the competitive total, Faiz Fazal and Karun Nair got off to a cautious start. However, the opening stand was ended by 41 when Andile Phehlukwayo rattled Nair’s stumps. Later, the same over the pacer also accounted for the other opener to leave India ‘A’ on 43 for two.
Pandey who then came to the crease, dropped anchor and shaped the Indian innings. Although he lost partners at regular intervals the captain played watchfully to keep the team in the fray. While Mandeep Singh was sent back by Dwaine Pretorious with the team on 65, Jadhav helped his skipper stabilize the innings. The middle-order bat stitched a 66-run stand for the fourth wicket before nicking Adams to the wicketkeeper. And with Sanju Samson following him back to the pavilion India ‘A’ were precariously poised after the double blow by Adams. Hardik Pandya then helped Pandey keep the chase on course with a 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket before returning to the dug-out.
With Jayant Yadav returning for one, Kulkarni joined Pandey in the middle. With 44 required 56 balls, the lower-order bat played the perfect foil to the middle-order batsmen in overhauling the target. The duo kept the scoreboard ticking as they carefully added to the tally. The picked singles as they inched towards the target. When scores were leveled, Pandey need four to reach a much deserved hundred. With a boundary off Phangiso he took the team to victory with eight balls to spare and brought up his ton.
Brief scores: SA ‘A’ 230/8 in 50 overs (D Miller 90, Q Adams 52, D Kulkarni 4/37, J Unadkat 2/42, H Pandya 2/55) lost to India ‘A’ 234/7 in 48.4 overs (M Pandey 100*, K Jadhav 26, D Kulkarni 23*, Q Adams 2/16) by 3 wickets
