India A’s two-match unofficial Test series has come to and end, with South Africa A managing to pull off a 5-wicket win in the 2nd Test at the BCCI’s CoE in Bengaluru. The only India A star who managed to make a mark in the game was twin-centurion Dhruv Jurel while rest of the Test regulars either under-performed or struggled. After winning the 1st unofficial Test by 3 wickets, the result in the 2nd one is far from what India A would have hoped for, especially since this was the final game before the two-match Test series against SA begins.
Jurel outshines Pant, stakes claim for spot in Test side
Joining the India A side for the 2nd unofficial Test against South Africa A, Jurel created an instant impact, more or less emerging as the face-saver for the team in the contest. His fine form in the red-ball format continued after his 125, 44 and 6* against the West Indies. In the 1st innings, he stayed unbeaten on 132 runs while the rest of the India A stars, including KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan, simply failed. He went one up against captain Rishabh Pant, who he had replaced in the IND vs WI series, as the latter managed to score just 24.
In the 2nd innings, Jurel once again breached the triple-figure mark and stayed unbeaten on 127 runs at the end of the innings. Meanwhile, Test regulars like Padikkal, Rahul and Sudharsan only managed to cross the 20-run mark. Pant, who retired hurt on 17 after facing multiple blows to his body in the 1st session on Day 3, managed to finish with 65 runs to his name after his return to the crease.
With his performance in the IND A vs SA A 2nd Test, Jurel has more or less made it impossible for Gambhir and Shubman Gill to drop him from the playing XI for the IND vs SA Test series. In fact, he could even replace Nitish Kumar Reddy in the line-up and play as a specialist batter.
Krishna outshines Siraj
Prasidh Krishna seems to have the upper hand over veteran Mohammed Siraj heading into the IND vs SA series. The Karnataka pacer finished with 5 wickets to his name while the Hyderabad fast-bowler was quite expensive and least impactful in terms of taking wickets. He managed to get just two in the 1st innings and one in the 2nd.
Meanwhile, the India’s frontline Test bowlers, including Siraj, Krishna, Akash Deep and Kuldeep, couldn’t manage to bowl out SA A and their weakness stands exposed after the 2nd unofficial Test. Despite India setting a mammoth target of 417 runs, the India A bowlers could only manage to take 5 wickets. Surely, South Africa would have the psychological advantage after their victory against India A in the 2nd unofficial Test and might as well be better prepared for the upcoming Test series.
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