Left-arm conventional spinner Saurabh Kumar proved to be too good for Bangladesh 'A' line-up as India 'A' pouched the two 'Test' series with a dominating win by an innings and 123 runs in the second and final game here on Friday.
With his eye-catching outing, the 29-year-old has paved the way for himself as the replacement for the injured Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian Test Squad for the approaching series against Bangladesh, commencing on December 14.
Having made way for a gargantuan lead of 310 in the first innings, Bangladesh 'A' displayed an even poorer show with the bat as they were rolled for an unimposing 187 in 79.5 overs.
In the first innings, Bangladesh were a touch better, scoring 252 and India responded with a towering 562, on the coattails of captain Abhimanyu Easwaran's brilliant 157.
Saurabh, who also grabbed a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the stalemated first 'Test, fetched six for 72 in 30 overs and went on to become one of the driving forces to fashion a series win.
The Uttar Pradesh ace spinner also wrapped up with a haul of 15 claims in two games to rise as the top-wicket taker in the series.
Bangladesh 'A', by the virtue of hardened former skipper Mominul Haque in their setup, were anticipating to battle it out for three sessions and winkle out a draw.
However, Mominul (6) was shrewdly cleaned up behind stumps by keeper Kona Bharat in the fifth over of the morning and there was no point of return thereafter for India 'A'.
Opener Shadman Islam with his 93 not out did put up a fight and also constructed a 54-run fourth wicket stand with Shahadat Hossain (29) but Saurabh split up that stand with Yash Dhull taking a catch.
Navdeep Saini with 2/54 in 16 overs, was handed an extended spell on account of his potential inclusion to the senior squad, then claimed two wickets in three deliveries to send half of the home side in the hut. He first trapped Jaker Ali leg before and then had Yashasvi Jaiswal catch Mohammed Mithun in the slips to raze Bangladesh 'A' to 145 for six.
In the absence of ace pace Mohammed Shami due to shoulder injury in the arsenal of India 'A', Saini is on the cards as the preferred choice in the forthcoming Test series by the senior team management. He is ahead in the pecking order compared to his counterpart an in-form Bengal speedster Mukesh Kumar as Saini's ability to get the ball to reverse swing at a blistering pace makes him superior.
Saurabh then was prompt to do the finishing act as he swept out the tail to line up a sweet win as Umesh Yadav with 2/34 in 15.5 overs completed the proceedings.
Umesh was on the coalface of the bowling department as he bowled nearly 32 overs (31.5 overs), has punched above his weight to spearhead the bowling attack of the senior team with Shami and Jasprit Bumrah missing. His teammate also notched up a typical fifty in his style and batted around for an adequate amount of time.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh A: 252 and 187 in 79.5 overs (Shadman Islam 93 not out, Saurabh Kumar 6/74, Umesh Yadav 2/34, Navdeep Saini 2/54).
India A: 562/9 declared.
India won by an innings and 123 runs.
