Manish Pandey blasts century as India 'A' clinch series against West Indies 'A'
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Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey struck an 87-ball century as India 'A' took an unassailable 3-0 lead against West Indies 'A'. Baroda's Krunal Pandya starred with the ball for the Men in Blue, as he claimed his second List A five-wicket haul, ending up with figures of 5/25 off just seven overs.
The India 'A' team led by Shreyas Iyer put up yet another clinical display as they thrashed West Indies 'A' by 148 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match unofficial ODI series. Manish Pandey starred with the bat for the visitors, striking an 87-ball hundred, while Krunal Pandya wrapped things up with the ball as he claimed his second five-wicket haul in List A cricket.
Batting first on a rather flat surface, India lost opener Anmolpreet Singh for a duck before skipper Iyer and Shubman Gill steadied things for the visitors with a glorious 109-run stand. Gill struck his second fifty in as many matches but failed to convert yet again as he fell for 77. However, the Windies were then blown away by the Pandey show, as the Karnataka batsman scored a blistering 87-ball ton to help India 'A' post a competitive total of 295.
In reply, the hosts started the chase off on a good note, with John Campbell and Sunil Ambris stitching a 50-run partnership for the first wicket, before being removed by pacer Navdeep Saini. However, after initial resistance from the top-order, the Windies batsmen fell like a pack of cards, as left-arm spinner Pandya ran through the middle-order, ending up with figures of 5/25 off his seven overs. Hanuma Vihari also chipped in with the ball, as he claimed two wickets, including the prized one a dangerous-looking Keemo Paul.
With the squad for India's tour of the West Indies set to be named on July 19th, the Indian 'A' team players couldn't have asked for a better stage and opportunity to put their hands up for a call-up to the main team, and to their credit, several players have put the ball on the selectors' court, right before the selection.
