Pandey powers India B to win in rain-hit match
Shreyas Gopal and Prasidh Krishna had limited South Africa A to 231 before Manish Pandey posted an unbeaten 95 to take India to a comfortable victory
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Aug-2018
India B 214 for 5 (Pandey 95*, Gill 42, Paterson 2-33) beat South Africa A 231 (Muthuswamy 55, Behardien 43, Krishna 4-49) by 30 runs (D/L method)
An unbeaten 95 from Manish Pandey powered India B to a 30-run win against South Africa A at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur. Chasing 220 in 45 overs in a rain-affected game, India B were just six runs short of a win with 4.3 overs left before rain ended play, and they were adjudged to be well ahead via the Duckworth/Lewis method.
India B's pacers mowed down South Africa A's top order after sending them in to bat. With the visitors reduced to 57 for 4, the No. 5 Farhaan Beherdien struck a 104-run partnership with Senuran Muthuswamy to save South Africa A from a collapse. But legspinner Shreyas Gopal came in to cause more damage in the middle, picking up three wickets - including that of Behardien and Muthuswamy - in the space of eight balls to leave South Africa reeling at 164 for 7. Medium pacer Prasidh Krishna came back to dismiss the tailenders and finished with figures of 4 for 49.
In their chase, India B lost Mayank Agarwal and Deepak Hooda within six overs to Dane Paterson, but an 88-run stand between Pandey and opener Shubman Gill ensured they kept the scoring well above the asking rate. Following a brief rain stoppage which called for a shortening of the match, Pandey stitched partnerships together with the middle order to set India B up for a comfortable win.