Home
Sanju Samson-led India romped over New Zealand A with a 106-run win in third and final unofficial ODI to complete series whitewash at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. In a thumping win against the Kiwis, 19-year-old Raj Bawa starred with a four-fer whereas Shardul Thakur impressed with a quickfire 51 as New Zealand crumbled under pressure.
New Zealand's run chase got off to an ideal start. Chad Bowes and Dane Cleaver crossed the 50-run mark in the 10th over. Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar broke the opening partnership. Bowes scored 20 runs from 31 deliveries. While Cleaver played the anchor role, New Zealand A kept losing wickets at the other end. Chahar in his next over struck again to dismiss Rachin Ravindra (2).
Bawa was introduced in the attack and broke the third-wicket partnership before it could build. Mark Chapman got out after scoring just 11 runs from 23 deliveries. Robert ODonnell disappointed as well and scored just six runs from 22 deliveries before losing his wicket to Kuldeep Yadav. Skipper Tom Bruce could not make an impact either and lost his wicket to part-timer Rahul Tripathi after scoring just 10 runs.
The pressure got to Cleaver as well who had completed his half-century. The opener lost his wicket to Rishi Dhawan and missed out on an opportunity to hit a century. Cleaver scored 83 runs from 89 deliveries including nine fours and two sixes. Michael Rippon (29) entertained with a few boundaries but became Bawa's second victim of the day. Kuldeep got the wicket of Logan van Beek (6) whereas Bawa mopped out the tail with the wickets of Jacob Duffy (1) and Matthew Fisher (0) to finish New Zealand A's innings in the 39th over for 178. Bawa finished with four wickets for 11 runs in 5.3 overs.
India A got off to a decent start in the first powerplay overs after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Abhimanyu Easwaran was threading the field well and finding boundaries whereas Rahul Tripathi took his time. Easwaran was the first to fall as he got caught behind off Fisher's bowling. He scored 39 runs off 35 deliveries including eight fours. Tripathi could not carry on either and got lbw to Walker in an attempt to slog sweep.
Skipper Samson and Tilak Varma scored half-centuries and helped India A lay a good platform. Both Samson and Varma hit more sixes than fours in the middle overs. Varma got to his half-century in the 29th over. The southpaw lost his wicket to Ravindra. He scored 50 runs off 62 deliveries including one four and three sixes. Srikar Bharat did not impress despite walking out in a no-pressure situation. Bharat lost his wicket to Fisher after scoring just nine runs. Samson could not play a big knock either and got out to Duffy in the 36th over. He scored 54 runs from 58 deliveries including one four and two sixes.
Bawa was unimpressive with bat and became Duffy's second victim of the day. The teenager scored just four runs from 11 deliveries. With slog overs approaching, India needed a partnership to post a fighting total. Dhawan and Thakur paused the flow of regular wickets. Dhawan scored 34 runs from 46 deliveries before getting run out. Thakur helped India A dominate with his 33-ball 51. The all-rounder hit four fours and three sixes in his crucial knock. Rippon took two wickets in the final over as India A got all out in 49.3 overs. Kuldeep remained not out for five runs off six deliveries.
