The 21-year-old all-rounder Marco Jansen was the highlight of Day 2 of unofficial Test between India A and South Africa. Jansen who was picked up by five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Mumbai Indians in 2021 season for his base price of Rs 20 lakh, troubled India A bowlers with his unbeaten 70 followed by two wickets in the last two sessions of the day's play. India A would have been in deep trouble if not for the unbeaten partnership between Hanuma Vihari and Sarfaraz Khan that took the visitors to 198/5.
Batting with the tail
Coming to bat at no.8, Jansen held on to one end and helped his side recover from 170/6 to 297 in the first innings. The right-handed batter shared crucial partnerships with the tailenders to help the hosts post a respectable total on the board. He did the bulk of the scoring in the eighth and ninth-wicket partnerships with Lutho Sipamla and Beuran Hendricks respectively. the youngster scored 70 runs from 123 deliveries including eight fours and one six. On the other hand, no. 11 batter Glenton Stuurman contributed well in the 10th-wicket partnership with 47-ball 27 before getting run out by Ishan Porel. For India, Navdeep Saini and Porel took three wickets each in the innings.
Easwaran, Aparajith disappoint after good start
Indian openers Prithvi Shaw and Priyank Panchal shared a 57-run partnership scoring runs at a brisk rate. Skipper Panchal got out for 24 and was followed to the pavillion by Abhimanyu Easwaran who got out leg before wicket off the very next ball to Stuurman in the 12th over. Shaw scored 54-ball 42 including six boundaries and got out in the 15th over. Jansen added to India A's problems by getting the wicket of Aparajith.
Vihari takes control, Kishan misses fifty
The veteran Indian batter tried to play as many deliveries as he could and soaked up the pressure that was created after India A were reduced to 76/4. On the other hand, Kishan scored freely but left-arm pacer Jansen robbed him of a well-deserved half-century. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 49 runs off 71 deliveries including nine boundaries.
Vihari was joined by Sarfaraz in the middle. The Andhra Pradesh batter continued with his cautious approach while Sarfaraz scored at a slightly better strike rate. At the end of the day's play, the sixth-wicket partnership was worth 44 runs with Sarfaraz on 30 off 51 deliveries including three fours whereas Vihari was just five runs away from his half-century after facing 146 deliveries. India still trail by 99 runs. The sixth-wicket partnership will be crucial on Day 3 as India A will look to get rid of the trail.
