India A leveled the 2nd unofficial Test at Potchefstroom courtesy a 90-ball 55 (six fours) from opening batsman R Samarth and captain Karun Nair's crucial 90 as the side chased down the target of 224 in 62.3 overs. Nair hit 13 boundaries while contributions from Sudip Chatterjee (18 off 30), Shreyas Iyer (15 off 18) and Ankit Bawne (32*) helped India A level the series with a six-wicket win after losing the first match by a big margin of 235 runs.
Before Nair got into the act, the bowlers had laid the foundation for a win with an excellent effort. The hosts started the fourth day on 138 for 4 but folded for 177. Right-arm quick Ankit Rajpoot (3/15) and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem picked wickets at regular intervals. Stephen Cook remained unbeaten on 70. In the two matches, Nadeem collected 11 wickets.
This was India Aās first away first-class win since 2013.
Brief scores: South Africa A 322 and 177 (Stephen Cook 70 not out, Andile Phehlukwayo 29; Ankit Rajpoot 3-15, Shahbaz Nadeem 3-47, K Gowtham 2-48) lost to India A 276 and 226/4 in 62.3 overs (R Samarth 55, Karun Nair 90, Ankit Bawne 32 not out; Dane Piedt 2-75) by six wickets.
Man of the Match: R Samarth
Man of the Series: Stephen Cook
