Already assured of a place in Sunday's final, Pandey-led India 'A' go down to Australia 'A' by one run in a thrilling league match of quadrangular series
Manish Pandey's scintillating 110 went in vain for India 'A' yesterday
Mackay: Manish Pandey's second century of the tournament went in vain as India lost a thriller to Australia 'A' by one run in their final pool match of the quadrangular series here yesterday.
Manish Pandey's scintillating 110 went in vain for India 'A' yesterday
ADVERTISEMENT
India have already qualified the final, but a victory would have given them a psychological edge when both teams meet again in the final on Sunday.
India 'A' continued the trend of inserting the opposition, but their fast bowlers were erratic from the start, allowing Australia 'A' batsmen Kurtis Patterson and Nic Maddinson to hit centuries to propel the home team to 322.
Led by another scintillating ton by Pandey (110) and a composed 87 from 74 balls by Sanju Samson, India looked to be cruising towards the target with six wickets in hand. But a deft dab by Pandey was snapped up by wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman, leaving Samson the responsibility of taking India home with 22 runs required from 20 balls.
A brilliant direct hit from Alex Ross ran out Hardik Pandya and an economical over by Dan Worrell meant India 'A' required nine runs from the final over.
Samson and Jayant Yadav scrambled six runs from the first four balls, but Samson was caught inches inside the boundary rope trying to finish the game with a hit over long on.
Needing three off the last ball, Yadav could only manage to hit straight to cover, giving Australia 'A' a thrilling victory.
India are also certain to bring back their star trio of Dhawal Kulkarni, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal into the playing XI to strengthen the bowling for the big clash on Sunday.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
