IND A vs NZ A, Day 4: Priyank Panchal-led India A turned the tides in their favor as they won the 3 Test match Test series against New Zealand A by a margin of 1-0. Courtesy of Saurabh Kumar's 5/103, India comfortably outplayed the visitors and before they could know it, things were over for them. The match was hanging in balance till the 3rd day, but when the proceedings for day 4 began, India made sure that things go according to their plans.
Tom Bruce-led New Zealand were chasing a mammoth total of 416 set by the India A team. For a major chunk of New Zealand's innings, it seemed as if the match was heading for another draw, much like the other two concluded Test matches of the series. New Zealand's Joe Carter made sure that he holds one end and keeps his side in the game. Carter scored a stellar 111 runs off 230 deliveries. With a strike rate of 48.26, 12 boundaries, and 1 six, Carter's ton bothered the members of India A and they had to earn this victory which was a series decider. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Sharma took the onus upon himself to steer India's ship through rough seas. Carter was the ninth wicket to fall for New Zealand. Surprisingly all five wickets of Saurabh came through Leg Before Wicket (LBW) and he had the Kiwi batsmen in all kinds of trouble.
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Few New Zealand batters seemed pretty frustrated and unhappy by the on-field umpire's decision indicating they had put some bat to the ball. On the other hand, there was Umran Malik who bowled 10 no-balls in the second innings. India A owes a huge part of this victory to Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Rajat Patidar who scored a staggering 109* off 135 deliveries. With the help of 13 fours and 2 sixes, Patidar batted with a strike rate of 80.74. He was joined in by Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad who missed out on his century just by 6 runs and scored 94 off 164 deliveries before he was dismissed by Joe Walker. Debutants of India A, Tilak Verma, and Mukesh Kumar too fared decently.
Indian skipper Priyank Panchal, after the match stated that leg-spinner Rahul Chahar did not have any major injury issues and he walked off the field with a precautionary mind and keeping the busy schedule in mind.
Teams:
India A: Priyank Panchal (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Upendra Yadav (wk), Shardul Thakur, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Umran Malik
New Zealand A: Joe Carter, Rachin Ravindra, Dane Cleaver, Robert ODonnell, Tom Bruce (c), Mark Chapman, Cam Fletcher (wk), Sean Solia, Joe Walker, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher
