India A’s robust lower middle order contributed three half-centuries to help the side to a strong total before their bowlers scuppered the visitors’ chase.
Gurkeerat Singh had the biggest role in his team’s victory as he followed up a fifty with five wickets, while Rishi Dhawan first smashed an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls and then claimed two wickets. Sanju Samson and Mayank Agarwal (56) provided calmer counterpoints to the late-order blast that eventually ensued. Samson put on 102 runs with Gurkeerat for the sixth wicket, before adding 78 for the seventh with Dhawan.
Chasing 323, Bangladesh A were off to a wobbly start as left-arm seamer S Aravind dismissed the top three batsmen for a cumulative score of 34. The visitors were reduced to 87 for 5 after Rishi removed Bangladesh A captain Mominul Haque and Sabbir Rahman.
Bangladesh A, however, were roused by a 120-run alliance for the sixth wicket between Nasir Hossain and Liton Das. But, once Gurkeerat removed both the batsmen in the space of three overs, Bangladesh’s innings headed southwards, and they were bowled out with 7.3 overs still remaining.
