IND-A vs SA-A: In the first match of the three-match unofficial ODI series, India A defeated South Africa A by 4 wickets. This match was played on Thursday at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. Chasing 286 runs, the Indian team achieved the target in the last over and registered a thrilling victory. With this the team has taken a 1-0 lead in the series.
Gaikwad’s strong century became the foundation of victory
The biggest support for India-A’s victory was Rituraj Gaikwad, who scored 117 runs in 129 balls while playing the captaincy innings. During this period he hit 12 fours. This is the 17th century of Ruturaj’s List-A career and the most important thing is that he kept the team in control continuously.
Opener Abhishek Sharma gave a good start with 31 runs, while captain Tilak Verma strengthened the innings by scoring 39 runs. In the end, Nitish Reddy, playing the role of finisher, scored 37 runs in 26 balls. He turned the match towards India A by hitting one six and three fours. Nishant Sindhu remained unbeaten after scoring 29 runs and ensured the victory of his team.
Bjorn Fortuin, Otniel Bartman and Tian van Vuuren took two wickets each for South Africa-A.
South Africa A’s weak start, then the game changed
Earlier, after losing the toss and coming to bat first, South Africa A had a very bad start. The team had lost its 5 wickets for just 53 runs. It seemed that the score would not even reach 150, but Delano Potgieter, Dianne Forrester and Bjorn Fortuin completely changed the match.
Potgieter played a brilliant inning of 90 runs in 105 balls. During this, he hit 10 fours and one six. Whereas Diane Forrester scored 77 runs and along with Potgieter made a partnership of 113 runs for the sixth wicket. In the end, Bjorn Fortuin scored 58 runs and took the team to 285. For India-A, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh took two wickets each.
Second match now on 16th November
The second match of the series will also be played on the same ground on 16 November. While South Africa-A will try to make a comeback, India-A will look to win the series.
