Second One-Dayer between India A and New Zealand A ends in a thrilling tie

India A and New Zealand A played out a thrilling tie in the second of the ongoing 5-match series between them in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. The first match was abandoned due to rain and the second one was rescheduled to October 10 which was originally arranged on Sunday (October 8). However, by the virtue of the tie, the series is deadlocked yet with three games to play and the third One-Dayer will be played on Wednesday.

The visiting team won the toss and opted to bat as the match was reduced to 42 overs per side as the match started late due to the wet outfield. But the openers George Worker and Colin Munro were dismissed early by Siddharth Kaul. Glenn Phillips who came in at number 3 looked in great touch from the word go and launched a counter punch on the hosts. He first added 74 runs with the skipper Henry Nicholls and then 96 with Tom Bruce who scored a vital 46 off just 44 deliveries.

Phillips kept going from one end and scored a magnificent ton thereby almost ensuring himself a place in the squad for the International series against India later this month. He remained unbeaten on 140 off 130 balls with 15 fours and 4 sixes as the Kiwis posted a challenging 269/6 off their stipulated 42 overs. For the home side, Kaul was the only bowler who looked threatening and picked 3 wickets for 65 runs. Other bowlers were also expensive as Karn Sharma scalped a couple.

Thrilling chase

Chasing a huge total, India A lost their top three, Prithvi Shaw, Shreevats Goswami and Mayank Agarwal, within first 10 overs. Soon the wickets of Vijay Shankar and Deepak Hooda further reduced them to 84/5 staring at a defeat. But the skipper Shreyas Iyer and Ankit Bawne got together and consolidated the innings first before staging a stunning fightback in the game. The duo added 126 runs for the sixth wicket in less than 18 overs before Todd Astle scalped Iyer for a well made 90 off just 73 deliveries.

However, Ankit Bawne kept going strongly but lost partners at the other end. Finally, the equation boiled down to 11 off the final over with 1 wicket left for the hosts. Fortunately, Ankit was there for them but he could not take his team over the line and the game ended in a thrilling tie. Nevertheless, he bailed out India A from a precarious position and took the game until the last over. He remained unbeaten on 83 off 80 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. Todd Astle and Scott Kuggeleijn shared 7 wickets between them as the former scalped 4.

No team deserved to lose after all the action and the result was the perfect one for both the teams.

Brief Scores

New Zealand A 269/6 in 42 overs (Phillips 140*; S Kaul 3/65)

India A 269/9 in 42 overs (Iyer 90, Bawne 83*; T Astle 4/22).