Prabhsimran’s ton, Vipraj’s late cameo seal it for India-A

India-A dug itself a hole, going for needless slogs against the Australia-A spinners, before Vipraj Nigam ensured Prabhsimran Singh’s work was not undone and got the side a two-wicket win in the third unofficial one-dayer at the Green Park Stadium on Sunday.

The side was cantering along in its pursuit of 317 runs but lost five wickets for 39 runs, including set batters Shreyas Iyer and Riyan Parag, handing Australia-A a shot at a late victory. But Vipraj (24 n.o., 32b, 2×4, 1×6) held his nerve and steered the side home from 301 for eight.

A late twist was unthinkable when Prabhsimran Singh accomplished the enviable task of outshining Abhishek Sharma in a PowerPlay and notched up his sixth List A century in just 66 balls. He took on the on-side trap that entailed boundary riders at deep midwicket and deep square leg, giving India-A a lift-off needed for the big chase. But when he sliced Tanveer Sangha to cover in the 20th over, India-A was only at 145 and still some distance away from the target. Shreyas and Riyan then combined for 117 runs for the fourth-wicket to nearly seal the job. But things spun out of control when the pair perished shortly after their fifties, looking to take on Sangha.

But that Australia-A had enough to make a fist of it was down to an intrepid partnership between Liam Scott and Jack Edwards in the first innings. They added 152 runs for the sixth wicket and handed their side a lifeline after it was staring down the barrel at 115 for five. The lanky all-rounders made the most of their crease against the spinners, using depth to rock back and launch their hits through the on-side.

But India-A trapped them in shackles in the death overs with a slew of slower deliveries and bundled the side out for 316.

The scores: Australia A 316 in 45.5 overs (Cooper Connolly 64, Liam Scott 73, Jack Edwards 89, Arshdeep Singh 3/38, Harshit Rana 3/60) lost to India A 322/8 in 46 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 102, Shreyas Iyer 62, Riyan Parag 62, Tanveer Sangha 4/72, Todd Murphy 4/42). Toss: Australia A; PoM: Prabhsimran.