IND-A vs NZ-A 2nd Unofficial ODI Review - Clinical India A chase down 220 despite late hiccup to take a 2-0 lead

The second Unofficial One Day International between India A and New Zealand A saw the Indian team coming out on top by four wickets in Chennai. After an impressive seven-wicket win in the first game, India A looked confident in this game as well and even though quick wickets seemed to derail their momentum, they staged a remarkable fightback to end up on the winning side. 

Even though the top-order showed a great resistance, at one point a flurry of wickets meant that it opened up the floodgates for New Zealand A to stage a comeback and clean up the Indian tail. But that was not to be as the  lower-order fought back and helped the hosts in getting past the finish line. 

Prithvi Shaw's brisk start powers India A to a win

Batting first, New Zealand suffered an early setback in the form of opener Chad Bowes. They were in total disarray after losing Dane Cleaver before the duo of opener Rachin Ravindra and Joe Carter added 43-runs for the third wicket and tried to steady the Kiwi ship.

Just when things looked in control, New Zealand A lost the key wicket of Ravindra for 61 and even though a couple more wickets fell, Joe Carter held on to the other end strongly and kept the scoreboard ticking before he was sent back to the pavilion for a well-made 72. 

Apart from Sean Solia (28), none of the other batters could offer much resistance as New Zealand A were restricted to 219. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India A with figures of 4/51 while Rahul Chahar and Rishi Dhawan chipped in with two wickets each while speedster Umran Malik contributed with a wicket. 

In reply, promising opener Prithvi Shaw made the most of his good form and started attacking the bowlers right from the word 'go'. He and Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) added 82 runs for the opening stand. Just when it appeared as if Shaw would single-handedly take the game away from the opposition with his whirlwind knock, he was dismissed for a blistering 77 runs off 48 deliveries. 

The middle-order duo of Rajat Patidar (20) and Sanju Samson (37) then kept the scoreboard ticking and reduced the deficit for India A. In the end, Rishi Dhawan (22*) and Shardul Thakur's (25*) unbeaten 42-run seventh wicket stand helped the India A in getting past the finish line in the 34th over.