Thakur, Karn wrap up India A's 3-0 series win
After India A were pinned down to 90 for 6 in a chase of 174, the two bowlers added 43 to deny New Zealand A
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Oct-2017
India A 174 for 7 (Easwaran 49, Thakur 40, Ferguson 3-24, Kuggeleijn 2-36) beat New Zealand A 173 (Nicholls 42, Worker 39, Thampi 3-19) by three wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
A day after he had been recalled to the India ODI squad, Shardul Thakur took 1 for 19 and struck a 32-ball 40 - his highest in List A cricket - to help India A secure a low-scoring match in Visakhapatnam. After India A were pinned down to 90 for 6 in a chase of 174, Thakur added 43 with Karn Sharma before falling in the 28th over. Karn, however, stayed unbeaten on 38 off 40 balls to guide the side to a 3-0 win in the five-match series.
The first match of the series had been abandoned without a ball being bowled while the second one ended in a tie. The hosts' win meant New Zealand A could not win even one of the six completed matches on the tour.
Having opted to bat, New Zealand A lost Colin Munro early to Thakur, before George Worker and Glenn Phillips added 38 for the second wicket. The spinners Karn and Shahbaz Nadeem then had Phillips and Tom Bruce stumped to reduce the visitors to 80 for 3 in 17 overs. Captain Henry Nicholls resisted with 42 off 70 balls but fast bowler Basil Thampi carved up the middle order by striking thrice in four balls in the 24th over, removing Tom Blundell and Tim Seifert for ducks. Mohammed Siraj wrapped up the tail quickly to bowl New Zealand A out for 173 in 44.2 overs.
Then it was India A's turn to suffer a collapse of their own: they fell to 30 for 4 and then 90 for 6 with quicks Lockie Ferguson and Scott Kuggeleijn sharing five of the first six wickets. Amid the strikes, Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran punched 49 off 51 balls, including six fours and a six, to set the path for the lower order to seal the chase.
