Gurkeerat Mann stars in India A's convincing victory over Bangladesh A

Gurkeerat Mann stars in India A’s convincing victory over Bangladesh A: A 120-run stand between Nasir Hossain (52) and Liton Das (75) went in vain as Gurkeerat Singh Mann starred with the bat and ball (65 & 5/29) to help India A secure a 96-run victory against the touring Bangladesh A in their first unofficial one day game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Bangladesh A were always expected to find it tough chasing the huge score but the fact that they did not even come close, should concern them. Having brought a strong side, they can’t hide behind excuses of not having the arsenal for the contest.

India A were in trouble at one stage after having being asked to bat by the tourists. On a wicket that looked rather lively with a bright tinge of green, 20-year-old pacer Taskin Ahmed started erratically but soon found some discipline with Shafiul Islam at the other end. Taskin struck soon as Unmukt edged a length ball to Liton Das. Pandey departed soon after and the task of rebuilding the innings fell on Raina and Mayank Agarwal. After a sedate start the duo started shifting gears as India A reached 75/2 after 14 overs.

The first over of spin right after the drinks break reaped rich dividends as Raina was trapped in front by Nasir Hossain. Bangladesh A stepped up their efforts on the field when a direct hit from Nasir Hossain sent Kedar Jadhav packing. In a bid to create further inroads, Mominul brought back Taskin as the 20-year-old Sanju Samson arrived in the middle. While wickets tumbled at one end, Mayank brought up his stroke-filled fifty off 63 balls.

After a momentary lapse of concentration accounted for Mayank’s wicket, new man Gurkeerat Mann injected the much-needed life into the Indian innings. Samson soon brought up his fifty as India A looked set for a strong finish. Sunny trapped Gurkeerat as Bangladesh A hoped to stem the flow of runs. But much to their disappointment Rishi Dhawan’s late-order blitz (56* off 34 balls) ensured India got to massive total of 322/7.

In a daunting chase, Soumya Sarkar started cautiously before getting into his rhythm. But the southpaw attempted one shot too many as Aravind got him caught at mid wicket. The left armer struck very next ball, trapping Anamul Haque in front of the stumps. Aravind was on fire and took his 3^rd wicket with a sensational delivery, that breached Talukdar’s defence and sent the off-stump flying as Bangladesh A limped to 34 for three in 5.4 overs. Skipper Mominul and Sabbir Rahman tried to counter-attack but Mominul perished trying to chase a delivery from Rishi Dhawan.

Bangladesh were reduced to 87 for 5 in 16.3 overs. Nasir Hossain and Liton began the rescue work, bringing up a 50-run stand off 56 balls. The pair looked fairly at ease until their brilliant 120 run stand was broken by Gurkeerat as he dismissed Nasir Hossain courtesy a brilliant catch by Raina. This dismissal, virtually, brought down the curtains on the Bangladesh A run-chase as they struggled to cope up with the Indian spinners. Gurkeerat soon wrapped up the final three wickets – dismissing Rubel Hossain, Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmed, to complete his fifer and India A’s comprehensive win.

Brief scores:

India ‘A’ – 322/6 in 50 overs (Sanju Samson 73, Gurkeerat Singh Mann 65; Nasir Hossain 51 for 2, Shafiul Islam 60 for 2)

Bangladesh ‘A’ – 226 in 42.3 overs (Liton Das 75, Nasir Hossain 52; Arvind Sreenath 3 for 29, Gurkeerat Singh Mann 5 for 29)

India A won by 97 runs.