South Africa A level the two-match series 1-1.
On the last day of IND A vs SA A 2nd unofficial Test, South Africa stitched crucial partnerships to chase down the target of 417, making it the highest run-chase by an A team. Jordan Hermann and Lesego Senokwane from South Africa picked up from where they left off on Day 3. Prasidh Krishna took two wickets, but as a collective, Indian bowlers failed to put pressure on the visitors. Connor Esterhuizen grabbed the spotlight for his mighty contribution in the series.
Harsh Dubey, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep had joined the wicket-taking party. But South Africa won by five wickets to level the two-match series.
Jordan Hermann (15) and Lesego Senokwane (9) started Day 4 with a 25-run partnership. Both openers went on to do some early damage on the scoreboard. The 23-year-old Hermann looked too comfortable, smashing 13 boundaries. He went on to make 91 runs before Prasidh Krishna took a return catch to dismiss the batter. The wicket fell at 156/1 in 43 overs.
Zubayr Hamza and Temba Bavuma were stitching another impactful partnership to stay alive in the match. But another special delivery by Krishna bowled out Hamza at 77. Meanwhile, Bavuma completed his half-century. Marques Ackerman, the captain, was the new man in at No.5.
The 28-year-old Senokwane showed great temperament, scoring 77 runs with the help of 11 boundaries. But Dubey plumbed the right-hander, soon after the first wicket fell for South Africa. With back-to-back wickets, India have put themselves ahead in the game.
Earlier, the youngster had shown with the bat in the third innings of the 2nd Test.
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India’s Test bowler Mohammed Siraj hunt down Marques Ackerman after a long 14 overs before it turned out to be a no-ball. But he eventually took out the captain, with Dhruv Jurel completing the catch in the 84th over. The southpaw batter had managed 24 runs off 26 balls.
From the other end, Akash Deep took out Test side captain Bavuma at the score of 59 runs. This time, Sai Sudharsan completed the caught-out dismissal.
The visitors were all out for 221 in the second innings. So, they started strong in the fourth innings with a huge partnership by the opening pair. The South Africa batters showed enough resilience, while India’s attack, containing at least three senior bowlers, couldn’t put enough pressure.
Krishna scalped two, while three other bowlers took a wicket each. In addition to that, Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal also rolled their arm for one over each. Jordan Hermann remained the top scorer in the last innings, followed by two 77-run knocks. But it was a half-century by Connor Esterhuizen (52 off 54), which pushed the visitors to a win.
After KL Rahul fell early on Day 3, Dhruv Jurel and Harsh Dubey held the fort. The gloveman scored his second century in the match, while young Dubey added 84 runs. Rishabh Pant, who was retired hurt, came out to bat to contribute 65 runs. India declared the innings at 382/7. For South Africa, Okuhle Cele was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets.
The visitors started batting in the last session. Openers Jordan Hermann and Lesego Senokwane looked solid with their 25-run partnership as they started with a 400+ target.
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