Tri-series, 2nd ODI: Karun Nair, Manish Pandey shine as India A register 7-wicket win over Afghanistan A
Nair, Pandey shine as India A register 7-wicket win over Afghanistan A
After losing the first match by a close margin against South Africa A, India A bounced back in style and registered comprehensive 7-wicket win over Afghanistan A. It was a clinical performance from Manish Pandey and boys. After the bowlers bowled the opposition out cheaply for 149, the batsmen chased down the total in just 30.4 overs.
Electing to bowl first, India were provided with a terrific start by Siddharth Kaul – who came into the side for Mohammed Siraj – as he got rid of Usman Ghani in the second over. After that, there was a fine partnership between Javed Ahmadi and Rahmat Shah. The pair added 38 runs for the second wicket, before Axar Patel broke the partnership by sending Javed Ahmadi back in the pavilion. The left-arm spinner then struck again in his second over and got rid of Nasir Jamal.
After losing two wickets in quick succession, the repairing job was done by Rahmat Shah and Najibullah Zadran. The duo stitched a partnership of 38 runs and both looked good to get their team to a decent total. However, the introduction of Yuzvendra Chahal and Vijay Shankar brought about a downfall among the Afghanistan batting lineup. The bowling duo hunted in pairs as they picked 5 wickets between them and wrecked havoc in the opposition’s camp. Courtesy of their terrific spell of bowling, Afghanistan A slipped down from 93 for 3 to 106 for 8.
In the end, it was a quickfire 39 from Sharafuddin Ashraf that helped his team get close to 150. But overall, it was an abysmal batting performance from Afghanistan A.
During the chase, the India A batsmen hardly broke any sweat as they chased down the target in just 30.4 overs. The 31-run opening partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair was followed by another 23 runs partnership between Nair and Samson. However, the partnership that turned out to be a decisive one for India was the one between Nair and captain Manish Pandey. The pair added 67 runs for the 3rd wicket and helped India get close to the finishing line.
Even though Karun Nair got out after scoring a fine 57, Pandey and Rishabh Pant remained unbeaten on 41 and 17, respectively and ensured a comfortable 7-wicket win for India A.