India A' falter in big chase again

It was six years ago to the day that Yuvraj Singh had thrashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in the inaugural T20 World Cup. The crowd of about 15,000 was thrilled with this message at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chasing 313, India ‘A’ needed their captain to repeat the super feat. Instead, the hosts fell short by 45 runs handing the third match and the three-match series (1-2) to West Indies ‘A’.

The manner in which India ‘A’ went about chasing the target, at least initially, gave the crowd hope. However, it turned out to be a story similar to that of the second match.

After West Indies scored 312 for nine, thanks to 104 from Kirk Edwards, the Indians had their task cut out. During the chase, it looked like Yuvraj (61, 59b, 4x4, 3x6) and Baba Aparajith (78, 95b, 6x4, 1x6) would see the hosts comfortably home.

Both batsmen put on 112 runs for the third wicket with some lusty hitting. However, after Yuvraj and Aparajith got out, lack of good partnerships proved to be the undoing for India ‘A’.

Earlier, the cloudy weather and drizzle did not hamper the visitors’ charge, even as lights were switched on.

Edwards was dropped by Mandeep Singh off Aparajith in the 34th over on 35, but it was a tough chance. That was the boon Edwards got and he cashed in on it.

Edwards stayed strong at the wicket and went on to score his century even as wickets kept falling at the other end. The Barbadian was involved in good partnerships, the highest being 93 off 80 balls for the fourth wicket with Leon Johnson (54).

The highlight of the Indian bowling was the five wicket haul by Jayadev Unadkat, his first in List A matches.