Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 2:
Captain Manish Pandey and Shivam Dube produced power-packed knocks to pave the way for India A’s four-wicket win over South Africa A in the third unofficial ODI here today, giving the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Dube smashed an unbeaten 45 off 28 balls while Pandey plundered 81 off 59 balls as India A overcame a poor start to win the rain affected match rather comfortably in the end. Chasing 208 in 30 overs, India A reached the target in 27.5 overs.
India A were in a spot of bother at 25 for 3 in the 7th over, having lost Ruturaj Gaikwad (1), Ricky Bhui (0) and Krunal Pandya (13) before Ishan Kishan (40 off 41 balls) and Pandey steadied the ship.
The aggressive Jharkhand southpaw Kishan, who starred in the second match, again underlined his talent with a fluent knock.
He was not afraid to go for the big shots and helped the team keep up with the climbing run-rate with some splendid shots.
Pandey, who started rather slowly, opened up after Kishan fell to left-arm spinner George Linde. The Karnataka right-hander smashed five sixes and powered the team’s chase.
Dube, who walked in at the fall of Nitish Rana (13), added 41 runs with Pandey. (PTI)
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