BENGALURU: Much like the aircraft taking off at Kempegowda International Airport, which, together with picturesque Nandi Hills, makes for a stunning backdrop for the BCCI Centre of Excellence here, South Africa ‘A’ soared on Sunday, effecting an exhilarating come-from-behind win against India ‘A’. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Going into the final day of the second four-day game, a target of 417 may have seemed insurmountable, but on a heavily rolled wicket, the South Africans refused to choke. They cantered across the line with three overs and five wickets to spare, leveling the two-match series 1-1. India won the first tie by three wickets.It’s not often that the target is flashed on the giant screen in a four-day game here, but that just added to the thrill of the contest that went past 5 pm so that the mandatory 90 overs could be completed. This was the highest chase in an ‘A’ series match and so imperious were the South Africans that five of their six batters on the scoresheet scored half-centuries. That these knocks came against an established Indian bowling line-up that included Mohammad Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav would boost confidence and augur well for the Test series proper that begins next week.
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Did South Africa ‘A’ exceed expectations with their chase of 417 runs?
While most of South Africa ‘A’ players are yet to cut their teeth in international cricket, they’ve spent some good time in First-Class cricket, and it showed on the day. India ‘A’ had declared at 382/7 in the final session on Saturday, and the visitors began their chase of what seemed an improbable 417 sprightly enough, finishing overnight at 25 for no loss. On Sunday, positive intent was the mantra of openers Jordan Hermann (91; 123b; 13×4; 1×6) and Lesego Senokwane (77). Hermann, a SA20 league star, and Senokwane, who made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in July, didn’t try anything extravagant. Their focus was on precision and planning, which included finding a boundary or two in every second over and rotating strike. While 23-year-old Hermann entertained with his straight and cover drives, Senokwane’s pull shots, especially against Kuldeep, were delightful as they added 75 runs in the first 86 deliveries in the morning. After a productive first session, South Africa ‘A’ still needed 303 runs. The 156-run opening partnership was finally broken by pacer Prasid Krishna, who accepted a return catch from Hermann, who fell short of a century by nine runs. About 10 overs later, Senokwane was trapped in front, while attempting to sweep a Harsh Dubey delivery that kept low. The wickets had no impact on the chase as Zubayr Hamza (77) and Temba Bavuma (59), who are both in the Test squad for the series against India, raised a 107-run partnership for the third wicket, which was highlighted by some power hitting, especially with Hamza having a go at the spinners.When Bavuma, the Proteas Test skipper, mis-timed a slog that was taken at mid-off by Sai Sudharsan off Akash Deep, the visitors were still 65 runs behind. The Indian camp endured a few anxious moments when Siraj, who was off the field for more than an hour after taking a painful hit on his finger while fielding. But he returned and bowled four overs and accounted for the wicket of skipper Marques Ackerman (24). Pant, too, was off the field but returned towards the end of the match.In fading light, Connor Esterhuizen (52 n,o) and Tiaan Van Vuuren (20 n.o) completed the chase for the ages.For India ‘A’, the biggest takeaways from the contest were the return of Rishabh Pant to form and fitness, and Dhruv Jurel’s sublime form with the bat.Brief scores: India ‘A’: 255 & 382/7 decl lost to South Africa ‘A’ 221 & 417/5 in 98 overs (Jordan Hermann 91, Lesego Senokwane 77, Zubayr Hamza 77, Temba Bavuma 59, Connor Esterhuizen 52 n.o; Prasid Krishna 2-49).
