India ‘A’ completed a clean sweep, beating New Zealand ‘A’ by two wickets, in a thrilling third and final ODI at the ACA-VDCA stadium here on Thursday.
Ashok Menaria and Kedar Jadhav who scored half-centuries in quick time and added 128 for the fifth wicket off 107 deliveries, swung the match India’s way after their team had slumped to 79 for four chasing New Zealand’s 290 for nine.
Opener Robin Uthappa continued his fine form, making 46 off 50 balls with six fours and a six. He hit two boundaries off Mark Gillespie and a six and four off Scott Kuggeleijn before being caught behind off Corey Anderson.
After Ish Sodhi cut short Sachin Baby’s innings, Jadhav (57, 61b, 5x4, 2x6) and Menaria (69, 50b, 2x4, 8x6) came together.
In full flow
Menaria, who claimed two wickets in the morning, enhanced his reputation as a batsman, hammering 24 runs, including three sixes and a four, off leg-spinner Todd Astle’s first over.
Off Astle’s next over, Menaria slammed two sixes before turning his attention to Devcich who was hit for a six and a four.
The two fell in the same over with the score on 207. Jadhav was run out to a sharp throw from Devcich while Menaria was caught by Sodhi off Kuggeleijn after top-edging a pull.
Mandeep Singh (37 not out, 27b, 3x4, 1x6) first stemmed the tide before joining hands with Jalaj Saxena (19) and Rahul Sharma (20) to take the team home.
Good knock by Devcich
In the morning, New Zealand, after being put in to bat for the second consecutive time, was well served by opener Anton Devcich (66, 85b, 8x4) and Carl Cachopa (33, 54b, 4x4) who added 103 for the second wicket.
Corey Anderson (59, 45b, 6x4, 2x6), brought back for this match, and Tom Latham (53, 48b, 6x4) strung together a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket before the 56-run association between Astle and Kuggeleijn for the eighth wicket took the Kiwis to 290.
The scores: New Zealand ‘A’ 290 for nine in 50 overs (Anton Devcich 66, Corey Anderson 59, Tom Latham 53, Carl Cachopa 33, Scott Kuggeleijn 29, Todd Astle 27) lost to India ‘A’ 291 for eight in 49.2 overs (Robin Uthappa 46, Kedar Jadhav 57, Ashok Menaria 69, Mandeep Singh 37 n.o., Mark Gillespie three for 43).
