South Africa A draw series 1-1 after stunning chase

South Africa A completed a stunning victory over India A on the final day of the second unofficial Test at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. An all-round batting effort meant that they successfully chased down 417 to claim a five-wicket win and draw the series 1-1.

Resuming the day on 25/0, South Africa A started strong and scored freely on a pitch that increasingly favoured batting. Jordan Hermann struck Akash Deep for four boundaries in the 20th over and brought up fifty a few overs later. His partner, Lesogo Senokwane, followed suit a few overs later. The duo took their side to 139/0 at Lunch.

Jordan continued to be aggressive and struck Prasidh Krishna for a six and a four after the interval to move into the 90s. However, he was undone by the same bowler two overs later after returning a catch. Senokwane was the next to fall, trapped LBW by Harsh Dubey.

Zubayr Hamza and Temba Bavuma then put up a century stand with both getting to their respective fifties in the process. South Africa A were 219/2 at Tea, still needing 198 runs to win in the final session. They combined strike-rotation with timely boundaries to keep chipping away at the target. India Ai struggled for answers as the South Africa A batters continued to score at ease. Even the fall of wickets did not slow them down as the pair of Connor Esterhuizen, who also scored a fifty, and Tiaan van Vuuren got them across the line with relative ease in the 98th over.

Brief Scores:India A 255 & 382/7d lost to South Africa A 221 & 417/5 (Jordan Hermann 91, Lesego Senokwane 77, Zubayr Hamza 77; Prasidh Krishna 2-49) by 5 wickets