Unofficial Test: SA-A chase down massive target despite Jurel's heroics
What's the story
South Africa A stunned India A by successfully chasing down a massive 417-run target in the second unofficial Test in Bengaluru. Dhruv Jurel's twin tons in the game went in vain as the series ended in a 1-1 draw. For SA-A, skipper Marques Ackerman made a second-innings hundred as each of their top-four batters made fifties in the run chase.
Summary
How did the game pan out?
IND-A's first innings was powered by Jurel, who was the only batter with a 30-plus score in the innings. His 132* meant IND-A went from 126/7 to 255/10. SA-A were all out for 221 in response despite Ackerman's 134. IND-A declared their second innings at 382/7 thanks to Jurel's 127, skipper Rishabh Pant's 65, and Harsh Dubey's 84.
Chase
A brilliant fourth-innings run chase
Chasing 417 for victory, SA-A were off to a brilliant start with openers Jordan Hermann (91) and Lesego Senokwane (77) adding 156 runs. Fifties from Zubayr Hamza (77) and Temba Bavuma (59) further placed them at 304/2. They eventually crossed the line in the nick of time to square up the series (417/5). Wicket-keeper Connor Esterhuizen (52*) was the other half-centurion in the innings.
Jurel
Twin tons for Jurel
Jurel recorded two unbeaten hundreds in the game - 132* off 175 balls and 127* off 170 balls. With his 113th run in the first innings, Jurel completed 2,000 First-Class runs. He has now raced to 2,146 runs at a solid average of 51-plus. Jurel now boasts five tons and 13 fifties. He has now scored three tons in his last five FC outings.
Pant
5,500 runs for Pant
Pant overcame an injury scare in the third innings to score 65 off 54 balls. He raced past 5,500 FC runs (now 5,561) during his stay as he averages a fine 46-plus. His tally includes 42 scores of 50 or more, including 13 tons. Notably, he had made a match-winning 113-ball 90 in the fourth innings of the first unofficial Test.
Dubey
1,000 FC runs for Dubey
Dubey consumed 116 balls during his 84-run stay. Across 25 First-Class games, he has raced to exactly 1,000 runs at an average of around 25. This was his ninth fifty and also his best FC score. With his left-arm spin, Dubey could only manage one wicket each in his two outings with the ball in the game.
Prasidh
Prasidh shines in the game; Kuldeep falters
Prasidh Krishna was the most impressive Indian bowler in the game as he recorded figures worth 3/35 and 2/49. Notably, he has not been picked for the upcoming SA Test series. On the other hand, ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav could only manage a solitary wicket across 28 overs. Frontline pacers Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj managed three wickets each across both innings.
Akash deep
150 FC wickets for Akash Deep
With his second wicket in the game, Akash completed 150 wickets in First-Class cricket (now 151). Playing his 44th game, the pacer averages around 25 as his tally includes nine four wicket-hauls besides six fifers. 28 of his wickets have come in 10 Tests at 35.78. Notably, he trapped South African cricket captain Bavuma for a golden duck in the game's second innings.
Bavuma
Vital fifty for Bavuma
After bagging a first innings duck, Bavuma bounced back with a solid 59 off 101 balls. Akash ended his stay in the fourth innings as well. Meanwhile, this was a vital knock from Bavuma, who was playing his first game after the injury layoff since June's ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia. This was overall his 55th FC fifty (100s: 18).
Easwaran
Easwaran registers double ducks
Uncapped Indian opener Abhimanyu Easwaran registered double ducks in the game. Devdutt Padikkal, who managed scores worth 6 and 5 in the 1st unofficial Test, made 5 and 24 in the recent game. KL Rahul threw away his starts in both innings as he was managed scores of 19 and 27. The case of Sai Sudharsan, who made 17 and 23, was similar.