India A seal series win with draw against South Africa A
India A claimed the two-match Test series against South Africa A by a score of 1-0 as the second Test ended as a draw due to heavy rains on the final day. Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer and batsman Ankit Bawne scored half centuries for their team, while the match was called off at tea.
South Africa A continued from 294 for seven and ended up with 319. Indian pace bowler Mohammed Siraj took up Anrich Nortje’s wicket in the first over of the day, while Ankit Rajpoot removed Duanne Olivier from the crease before Siraj bowled Mthiwekhaya Nabe.
With Olivier removing Prithvi Shaw and then Hanuma Vihari, India A lost early wickets in the game. Vihari was dismissed for a duck with the total score of the team equal to 14 at that time.
Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer provided a steady ground for the team until Agarwal was removed by Senuran Muthusamy. However, Iyer and Ankit Bawne went on to make half centuries, Iyer particularly cruel to Muthusamy and Dane Piedt. Hitting three sixes on Piedt deliveries, he was eventually dismissed at 65, whereas Bawne made an unbeaten 64.
“I am happy that I got some runs under my belt. For sure, there was nothing wrong in my batting in the last two innings, just that I needed to convert 30s into big scores, which I tried focussing on," Iyer told reporters at post-match press conference.