IND A v SA A, Tri-series Match 5 Review: Manish Pandey steers India to a thrilling win

A spectacular knock from Heinrich Klaasen went in vain as India A registered a nail biting win against the hosts South Africa A at the LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria. Skipper Manish Pandey scored a mind boggling 93 off 85 balls which enabled a 1-wicket win over the Proteas. 

In what was supposed to be a dead rubber clash after both India A and South Africa A booked their berth in the final, Pandey won the spin of the coin and decided to field first. Early wickets from Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Siraj put South Africa on the back foot and jagged them into the defensive.

Wickets kept falling even after the end of the power play as the experienced Farhaan Behardien walked back without troubling the scorers and skipper Khaya Zondo too didn’t make a notable contribution. Half the side was back in the pavilion with the scoreboard reading just 65 after 15 overs.

Klassen came to the rescue for the hosts as he stitched an imperative 63-run stand for the sixth wicket with Dwaine Pretorius. After Pretorious walked back, Klassen completed his half-century and took the onus upon himself to keep the scoreboard ticking. He didn’t let go any opportunities as well to score boundaries.

The match turned on its head when Willem Mulder joined Klassen and the duo launched a counter attack on the Indian bowlers. Mulder started off cautiously but with the overs coming to an end, he and Klassen upped the ante and helped South Africa cross the 200-run barrier out of nowhere.

Klassen soon completed his century and Mulder scored a spectacular half-century. The duo added a whopping 111 for the 7th wicket and when Klassen was sent back by Thakur, they had reached 239 with seven down. Mulder eventually gave a strong finish and South Africa finished on 266 losing all their wickets.

Klassen scored 127 off 108 balls whilst Mulder scored 66 off 81 balls for the Proteas. Thakur picked four prized scalps and Siddharth Kaul got 3 wickets. India had a tough task in hand but they had enough fire power in their arsenal to get the job done.

Skipper leading from the front

After Shreyas Iyer and Vijay Shanker walked back in quick succession, Rishabh Pant and his Delhi Daredevils’ partner Sanju Samson(68 off 89 balls) batted India out of the early trouble. Pant couldn’t capitalize on the start though and walked back with India scoring 71 in 17 overs for the loss of three. Skipper Pandey then walked in to accompany Samson the duo stitched a vital partnership.

After adding 58 for the fourth, Smason departed and Deepak Hooda too got out quickly. With India struggling at 184 for the loss of 6,  Pandey unleashed himself on the bowlers and started gathering runs quickly. He and Yuzvendra Chahal added 43 crucial runs and things started to look a lot better for the Indians. Pandey soon completed his half-century as well and India were on top temporarily.

Chahal got out exactly at the wrong moment, but that brought Krunal Pandya into the crease, who played one of the cameos of his life. On a tough track to hit the long ball, Pandya scored 25 off 15 balls including 3 fours and a six and this condensed the equation quite drastically. With 5 runs to get and three wickets remaining, South Africa battled hard and made the match interesting.

First, Pandya walked back and in the 49th over, Aaron Phangiso dismissed Siddharth Kaul with two more runs still to get. Siraj then took a single off the last ball and with one run to get in the final over, Junior Dala bowled three dot balls and eventually conceded the winning. India finished on top in this enthralling contest and will have few more days to relax before the final. South Africa will face Afghanistan in the last group game on Saturday.

Brief Scores

South Africa A: 266 all out in 48.2 overs (Heinrich Klassen 127, Willem Mulder 66; Shardul Thakur 4/35)

India A: 267/9 in 49.4 overs (Manish Pandey 93*, Sanju Samson 68; Junior Dala 3/56)