THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India A are tightening the noose around South Africa A in the first unofficial Test. The visitors were always chasing the game after their first-innings capitulation, but there were some silver linings for them on Tuesday.
On Day 2, containing India A before the 250-run mark appeared a possible after reducing them to 199/7. They’d started the day at 129/2, but lost five wickets for 70 runs. Then Jalaj Saxena (61 n.o off 96) and Shardul Thakur (34 off 79) put on a ton-plus stand, pushing the total to 303.
Skipper Shubman Gill missed out on a well-deserved century after being dismissed for 90 by Dane Piedt. Piedt and Lungi Ngidi did damage with the ball. That’s when Saxena and Thakur entered the fray.
Thakur was steering their partnership initially as Saxena took his time to settle in. Once the Kerala all-rounder was set, he started scoring briskly, with Thakur holding down the other end. Their stand helped the hosts take a crucial first-innings lead of 139. South Africa A suffered another batting collapse, and were staring at a defeat after stumbling to 125/5.
The visitors fell like a pack of cards. Opener Pieter Malan’s off-stump went cartwheeling in the very first over. Skipper Aiden Markram departed in the sixth after making just four runs. There was some defiance from Zubayr Hamza, who made 44 before falling to K Gowtham.
“Very happy with our performance today. We need five more wickets and hopefully, we can get them in the first session itself,” India A captain Gill said after a good day in the office.
South Africa A have Heinrich Klaasen (35) and Wiaan Mulder (12) at the crease, and Ngidi feels that they could still force a result.
“The Indian players got some runs in the back-end. There’s nothing that says that our players can’t do the
same. It’s definitely our goal to make a game out of this,” said Ngidi.
A lot will rest on Klaasen, who is also part of the Test series. But that appears to be a tall order. Especially when the Indian bowlers seem to be in the same ruthless mode they were in the first innings.
Brief scores
South Africa A 164 & 125/5 in 35 ovs (Hamza 44; Nadeem 2/13) vs India A 303 in 87.5 ovs (Gill 90, Saxena 61 n.o; Ngidi 3/50)