Rajkot (Gujarat) [India], November 16 : Nishant Sindhu's four-fer and Ruturaj Gaikwad's half-century propel India A to a nine-wicket victory over South Africa A in the second unofficial ODI at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot on Sunday.
With this win, India A clinches the three-match ODI series after winning the initial two fixtures. Gaikwad and Tilak Varma see India A through with ease.
South Africa A were all out for 132 runs in the first innings. Sindhu and Harshit Rana bowled brilliantly for India. Sindhu took four wickets, while Harshit Rana took three. Prasidh Krishna and Tilak Varma also chipped in with Rana scalping T20 and Varma grabbing a wicket.
However, India's speedster Arshdeep Singh went wicketless. Wicketkeeper/batter Rivaldo Moonsamy was the top scorer for South Africa A with 33 runs under his belt.
Apart from him, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (21), Dian Forrester (22), and Delano Potgieter (23) contributed from the bat to propel Proteas to 132.
Six Proteas batters failed to reach double-digit scores. Chasing 133, India A lost their first wicket at 53 in the 9th over. India's star batter Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for 32 off 22 balls, his quick-fire innings including six fours.
Gaikwad followed up his century in the first match with a half-century this time around, while Varma took his time at the crease and also made a vital 29 off 62 balls.
India A displayed an impressive batting performance, achieving their target of 133 runs in 27.5 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. Gaikwad's unbeaten 68 powered India to victory.
Gaikwad was awarded player of the match for his brilliant fifty. India A will next clash with South Africa A on November 19 in the third and final ODI at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.