On the penultimate day of the four-day game, captain Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten half-century, marked by a mix of audacity, patience and fortune, held India A together, taking them to 119/4 against South Africa A on Saturday, November 1.
India still need 166 runs to chase down the target of 275, after South Africa, starting the day at 30 for no loss, were bowled out for 199 in their second innings.
Pant (64 not out, 81 balls, 8×4, 2×6) and Ayush Badoni (0) were at the crease at stumps. Pant will need to play a crucial role in bringing India A closer to the target on Sunday.
The wicketkeeper-batter joined Rajat Patidar (28) in the middle when the South Africans were bowling with pace and bounce, troubling the Indian batters. At one point, India were struggling
at 32 for three, having lost Ayush Mhatre, Sai Sudharsan, and Devdutt Padikkal.
Mhatre chopped Tshepo Moreki onto his stumps, Sudharsan’s 38-ball struggle ended when he was leg before to the same bowler, and Okuhle Cele found a small gap between Devdutt’s bat and pads.
But Pant, who added 77 runs for a gritty fourth-wicket stand, faced the situation with his usual flair, hitting Cele and then off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen for a six over covers. He wasn’t just trying to survive but aimed to assert his dominance to bring his side back into contention.
Pant did this with style, though Cele dropped a simple catch at fine leg off left-arm pacer Tiaan Van Vuuren when Pant attempted a no-look shot. Pant was on 46 then. He soon brought up a commendable fifty off 65 balls with a four through the covers off Subrayen and received some treatment for possible cramps as the innings progressed.
On the other end, Patidar struggled against the South African pacers and received an early reprieve on 7 when he edged Cele, but Jordan Hermann dropped the chance at second slip. There were a couple of leg before shouts against Patidar, but he survived them and later played some delightful cover drives. However, Patidar’s attempt to upper cut Van Vuuren ended in the hands of wicketkeeper Rivaldo Moonsamy, and Pant looked even more disappointed with that shot selection.
While the South African bowlers performed admirably, their batsmen were more careless, missing a chance to bat the hosts out of the match. Starting from 30 for no loss, the visitors lost six wickets in the first session, finding themselves at 128 for six.
Off-spinner Tanush Kotian (4/26) and pacer Anshul Kamboj (3/39) benefited from the needless aggression of the South African batters. Zubayr Hamza began with five fours in an over, including two elegant flicks and a cover drive off pacer Gurnoor Brar, before being bowled after a tame poke off Manav Suthar. Captain Marques Ackerman’s eagerness to reverse sweep a full ball from Kotian saw his leg stump rattled.
South Africa were 135 for seven, ahead by just 210 runs, but the lower-order batters took risks, adding 64 runs for the last three wickets to stretch the total and the lead, giving South Africa a better chance to stay in the fight.
(With PTI Inputs)
