SA A v IND A, 2nd unofficial Test, Day 4 Review: India A level the series with a 6-wicket win

India A ended their tour of South Africa with a 6-wicket win in the 2nd unofficial Test against the South Africa A to level the series. The home side was bowled out for just 177 in their 2nd innings as they managed to add only 39 runs to their overnight score and set a target of 224 runs with about 75 overs of play remaining. India A captain Karun Nair top scored with a 90, his highest individual score in any format since the triple hundred in Test cricket.

Resuming the day at 138/4, South Africa A lost the wicket of Andile Phehlukwayo on the very first ball of the day as the all-rounder was caught behind off Krishnappa Gowtham. Shahbaz Nadeem dismissed Shaun von Berg and Dane Piedt in consecutive overs while Dane Paterson and Duanne Olivier getting out on successive delivers from Ankit Rajpoot.

The innings came to an end as Omphile Ramela didn’t turn up to bat due to viral infection as Stephen Cook carried the bat scoring an unbeaten 70. This was the 3rd time Cook carried the bat in a first-class game and the 2nd time while playing for South Africa A. He scored an unbeaten 53 when his side was bowled out for just 136 in the first innings against England A in 2015/16 season at Pietermaritzburg.

India came out with clear intentions of scoring runs at a good pace and the openers added 36 runs in 10 overs before Lunch but Sudip Chatterjee got out on the last ball before the break for 18. The left-hander was cleaned up by off-spinner Piedt, who bagged his 300th wicket in first-class cricket. Shreyas Iyer also fell in order to score quick runs as he handed a return catch to Von Berg scoring 15.

But Karun Nair ensured his team doesn’t spill the winning chance by putting on a 74-run stand with Ravikumar Samarth, his Karnataka mate for the 3rd wicket. Samarth brought up his 2nd fifty of the game in 78 balls but was caught at short leg in Piedt’s bowling for 55. The 98-run 4th wicket stand of Nair with Ankeet Bawne took India close to the target. Nair brought up his first fifty of the series from 84 balls as India raced towards a win in the final session.

Nair’s innings came to an end on 90 when India A were two runs away from a win. Hanuma Vihari hit a boundary off the very first ball he faced to complete the win. Bawne stood unbeaten on 32 off 92 balls to see his side chase down the target. This is India A’s first win in first-class cricket outside India since 2013. They last won a multi-day game away from home in 2013, and that win was also registered in South Africa. After that game, India played six unofficial Tests outside the home and lost in three of them.

Brief Scores:

South Africa A first innings: 322 in 124.4 overs (Stephen Cook 98, Aiden Markram 74; Shahbaz Nadeem 4/118, Navdeep Saini 3/66)

India A first innings: 276/10 in 89.4 overs (Ravikumar Samarth 77, Shreyas Iyer 65; Dane Piedt 4/70, Dane Paterson 3/48)

South Africa A second innings: 177 in 65.2 overs (Stephen Cook 70*; Ankit Rajpoot 3/15, Shahbaz Nadeem 3/47)

India A second innings: 226/4 in 62.3 overs (Karun Nair 90, Ravikumar Samarth 55; Dane Piedt 2/75)