RESULT
1st unofficial Test, Wayanad, August 18 - 21, 2015, South Africa A tour of India
542 & 105/1d
(T:444) 204 & 309/4

Match drawn

Report

Nair century leads India A to draw

Karun Nair found a good time to break his rut and his first century in any format since March 2015 ensured a draw for India A, even though they had been trailing South Africa A for the bulk of the first unofficial Test in Wayanad

India A 204 (Iyer 49, Rayudu 46, Piedt 5-85) and 309 for 4 (Nair 114*, Vijay Shankar 74*) drew with South Africa A 542 (De Kock 113, Ramela 112, Vilas 75, Axar 4-115) and 105 for 1 dec (Hendricks 61)
Scorecard
Karun Nair found a good time to break his rut and his first century in any format since March 2015 ensured a draw for India A, even though they had been trailing South Africa A for the bulk of the first unofficial Test in Wayanad.
The visitors would have fancied their chances of a first victory on this tour to India when the final day began - eight wickets to get and a 371-run cushion to play with. But Nair would not budge. He struck an unbeaten 114 off 192 balls, his first ton since the triple in the Ranji Trophy final, and a couple of fifties by Vijay Shankar and captain Abhinav Mukund ensured the other end was just as plucky.
There were 78.2 overs of play possible. More than enough for the South Africans to hope, considering they had already dismissed India A for 204 in the first innings. The fourth innings meant spin would be doing the bulk of the work - Dane Piedt, who completed a five-for yesterday, trundled in for 49 overs for only one wicket. Slow left-armer Keshav Maharaj got through 36 overs for two wickets. Although both men kept their economy rates under three, South Africa A would have wanted more wickets from them. Oddly, though, Wayne Parnell bowled only three overs in the innings.
That they couldn't live up to that mandate was down to a very fluent innings from Nair. He had struck only one fifty in 10 innings against both Australia A and South Africa A. He could have been bogged down, but 18 fours and a six indicates otherwise. He walked out in the 12th over of the day and was there, seeing his team to the safety of a draw. Nair strung a 148-run fifth-wicket at a run-rate of 3.4 with Vijay Shankar, who contributed a steady 74 off 142 balls.
It was Vijay Shankar's sixth first-class fifty in 14 matches, and his Tamil Nadu state-mate Mukund eased to his 23rd in 96 matches. This resolute display from India A ensured the series remains 0-0 ahead of the second match, starting from next Tuesday.