Press Trust of India
Chennai, August 9: Opener Mayank Agarwal smashed a brilliant 130 (122b, 16×4, 1×6) in company of skipper Unmukt Chand, who complemented with a useful 90 (94b, 8×4, 2×6), as India A thrashed South Africa A by eight wickets to bag a bonus point in their second tri-series match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here Sunday.
Chasing 245 for a win, India A raced to their target in 37.4 overs courtesy a 219-run opening stand between Mayank and Unmukt. India A are now in contention for a place in the final with a match to go.
Earlier electing to bat, South Africa A rode on Quinton de Kock’s (108, 124b, 13×4, 1×6) century before getting bundled out for 244 in 50 overs. Medium-pacer Rishi Dhawan (4/49) bowled splendidly for India and was instrumental in keeping the visitors in check.
But the star for India A was undoubtedly Mayank, who sent the Proteas on a leather hunt. Suffering from cramps due to the sapping city heat, when Mayank finally nicked one, India A were only two runs away from a deserving victory.
Unmukt, also helped himself to a second successive half century but the Delhi boy missed out on his three-figure when he completely missed a half-tracker bowled by opposition skipper, Dean Elgar.
Unmukt was dropped twice on naught in the same over with the unlucky bowler being left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe. First he edged one to a diving wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, who failed to latch onto the chance. A ball later, he cut hard and De Kock failed to hold onto the powerful shot.
In fact both openers were very cautious to begin with as only two runs were scored after first 5.1 overs. Such was the dominance during those initial overs by South African pacers Hardus Viljoen and Tsotsobe, that India A openers played as many as 30 dot balls.
It was in the sixth over that the shackles were broken after Mayank slashed Viljoen over point and Unmukt guided one beyond the skipper’s reach for a boundary.
Once the first spell was gone, Indian openers settled for some dazzling strokeplay as leg-spinner Eddie Leie and left-arm spinner Elgar were taken to the cleaners by the duo.
