Skipper Pujara steers India A to thrilling 2-wicket win

Tags: India A in West Indies 2012, Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara, Jason Omar Holder, India A in West Indies 2012

Published on: Jun 06, 2012

India A defeated West Indies A by a thrilling margin of two wickets in the 1st Unofficial Test at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown. Skipper Cheteshwar Pujara batted superbly to control the run chase for India A, who were struggling chasing a target of 186. Pujara struck an unbeaten 96 to go along with his first innings score of 50.

- By BV Swagath

India A defeated West Indies A by a thrilling margin of two wickets in the 1st Unofficial Test at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown. Skipper Cheteshwar Pujara batted superbly to control the run chase for India A, who were struggling chasing a target of 186. Pujara struck an unbeaten 96 to go along with his first innings score of 50.

The visitors resumed the fourth and final day at a shaky 22 for 3. Opener Shikhar Dhawan departed early to make it 24 for 4 to leave the hosts in a winning position. When the dangerous Rohit Sharma got out to Jonathan Carter after scoring just 23, India A was slipping towards a defeat at 68 for 5.

Cheteshwar PujaraSoon, India A slipped hopelessly to 115 for 8 before Cheteshwar Pujara pulled off a fighting stand of 73-runs for the unbroken 9th wicket with Shami Ahmed (27* from 60 balls with 2 fours and a six) to break the hearts of the West Indian players. Pujara came up with a gritty 96 not out having survived 222 balls while hitting 10 fours. Fast bowler Jason Holder’s 5/55 went in vain as India A sneaked through for a win by 2 wickets.

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