Indian Board President’s XI lead South Africans by 250 runs at stumps, Day 1 in tour match at Mumbai
Indian Board President's XI lead South Africans by 250 runs at stumps, Day 1 in tour match at Mumbai
South Africans were 46 for 2 in reply to Indian Board President’s XI first-innings total of 296, in their second and final tour match ahead of the Test series against India. The two-day tour match, being played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, witnessed fall of wickets at regular intervals with some of the batsmen making merry as well. For the Indian Board President’s XI, KL Rahul and Naman Ojha slammed half-centuries while Karun Nair and Hardik Pandya made significant contributions to their team total. For the touring party, their ace pacer Dale Steyn and Simon Harmer claimed three wickets each while Vernon Philander claimed two. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Indian Board President’s XI vs South Africa 2015, 2-day practice match at Mumbai
Earlier in the day, the Indian Board President’s XI made a horrendous start as they were 27 for 3 with their star batsmen Unmukt Chand (4), Cheteshwar Pujara (5) and Shreyas Iyer (9) falling for cheap. Steyn made the new ball talk as he claimed two wickets first up, until Nair and Rahul joined forces to strengthen their side. Live Cricket Score and Blog Indian Board President XI vs South Africa 2015
Rahul and Nair added 105 runs for the fourth wicket, which laid the platform for a respectable total from Indian Board President’s XI. Rahul fell to Harmer after scoring 72 off 132 balls studded with 13 fours, while Nair was unfortunate as he missed out on a deserving half-century. Nair fell to Philander, after scoring a confident 44 off 70 balls with nine boundaries.
Nair and Rahul’s dismissals brought Naman Ojha and Sheldon Jackson to the crease, and the two added more than 50 runs for the sixth wicket to take India past the 200-run mark. Ojha scored a vital half-century, but fell right after that. He faced 80 balls, struck seven boundaries and a six to score 52 runs.
The Indian tail wasn’t expected to do much, but Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 47 helped India inch closer to the 300-run mark. Pandya clobbered three sixes and six boundaries to score 47 off 55 balls. The Indian Board President’s XI innings folded in the 79th over with 296 on board.
South Africans made a confident start, reaching 26 for no loss in five overs. Dean Elgar and Stiaan Van Zyl had a point to prove, but the dismissal of the latter in the seventh over increased some woes for South Africans. Shardul Thakur claimed the first wicket and was quick to remove the nightwatchman Simon Harmer. At stumps, South Africans were 46 for two, trailing by 250 runs.
Brief scores:
India Board President’s XI 296 (KL Rahul 72, Karun Nair 44, Naman Ojha 52, Hardik Pandya 47; Dale Steyn 3 for 46, Simon Harmer 3 for 41, Vernon Philander 2 for 47) lead South Africans 46 for 2 (Dean Elgar 18*, Stiaan Van Zyl 18*; Shardul Thakur 2 for 28) by 250 runs.