India A registered a thrilling 2 wicket win in the 2nd unofficial One day international played at Greenfield Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. The match was reduced to 21 overs a side due to rain.
India A captain Manish Pandey won the toss and decided to field first. It was a good start for the hosts as Deepak Chahar ran out Janemann Malan cheaply for 6. Khaleel Ahmed struck to dismiss another opener, Reeza Hendricks. At the end of 4 overs, South A0frica A were 15 for 2.
Temba Bavuma and Khaya Zondo steadied the South Africa A innings taking singles and hitting boundaries. Axar Patel got the breakthrough dismissing Zondo for 24. Zondo and Bavuma added 48 runs for the 3rd wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal got the wicket of Temba Bavuma for 40 to put South Africa A under pressure at 75 for 4.
Heinrich Klassen and Linde came together to steady the innings and then hit big hits to put India A under pressure. In the last few overs, both batsmen played with positive intent. Deepak Chahar dismissed Klassen for 31. Klassen and Linde added 52 runs for the 5th wicket. Linde played a cameo knock scoring his half-century off just 24 balls and remained not out. South Africa scored 162 for 5 in 21 overs. Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Axar Patel took 1 wicket each.
Chasing the target of 163 runs to win, B Hendricks got the early breakthrough dismissing Ruturaj Gaikwad for 1. Shubman Gill and Anmolpreet Singh took time to steady the innings. At the end of 4 1st power-play over, India A were 21 for 1.
Gill and Anmolpreet Singh took on the attack to South Africa A bowlers. As things were looking good for India A, Anmolpreet Singh tried to play a big stroke and was caught by Junior Dala. Gill and Anmolpreet Singh added 49 runs for the 2nd wicket. After that, Shubman Gill was brilliantly caught by Reeza Hendricks.
Ishan Kishan came to the crease and changed the complexion of the match with his power hitting. He took on South Africa A bowlers to reach his 50 off just 22 balls. Pandey and Kishan added 58 runs for the 4th wicket. Manish Pandey played a poor stroke and was dismissed for 13. Ishan Kishan played a great knock before getting out for 55 off 24 balls.
Axar Patel and Krunal Pandya added 26 runs for the 6th wicket. Junior Dala got the wickets of Axar and Deepak Chahar in successive balls. Shardul Thakur was run out. Krunal Pandya hit the winning runs and helped India A register 2 wicket win with 1 over to spare.
India A 163 for 8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 55, Junior Dala 2/25) beat South Africa A 162 for 5 in 21 overs ( Linde 52*, Temba Bavuma 40, Yuzvendra Chahal 1/22, Axar Patel 1/19) by 2 wickets.
India A takes a 2-0 lead in the series. The 3rd match would be played on 2nd September at the same ground.
