The top-order batsmen of India A failed to convert their starts into big scores as New Zealand A won the second unofficial ODI.
Mayank Agarwal file image.
The top-order batsmen of India A failed to convert their starts into big scores as New Zealand A won the second unofficial ODI in Christchurch on Friday by 29 runs.
Batting first New Zealand A posted 295/7 after opener George Worker scored 135 off 144 deliveries. No other batsman contributed much except for lower-order batsman Cole McConchie’s 56 in his 54-ball knock.
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For India, Ishan Porel and Mohammed Siraj were the pick of the bowlers as they shared five wickets among each other. Porel returned with the figure of 3/50, while Siraj’s numbers were 2/73. Axar Patel and Krunal Pandya contributed with a wicket each.
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Chasing, most of the Indian batsmen got off to a start but failed to capitalise. Opener Mayank Agarwal and Ruturaj Gaikwad gave India A comprehensive start after Prithvi Shaw went back to the pavilion in the first over.
Ishan Kishan, Vijay Shankar and Pandya fought hard in the middle but no batsman took the responsibility to complete the chase. Kishan and Shankar added 58 runs for the fifth wicket to steady the innings, while Pandya and Axar Patel registered another partnership of 54 for the seventh wicket.
But the Kiwi bowlers were up to the task as they kept on taking wickets at regular intervals. Three bowlers namely KA Jamieson, JA Duffy, and James Neesham took two wickets apiece, while R Ravindra and OR Newton contributed with a scalp each to help their team bring level to the three-match series.
Earlier on Wednesday, Inda A had won convincingly in the first unofficial ODI at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln. Prithvi Shaw and Sanju Samson had flourished with the willow before the bowlers restricted the Kiwi batsmen to 230.
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