Mysore: Shubman Gill shone again with a fine 92 (137b, 12×4, 1×6) as India A reached 233 for three at the end of first day’s play in the second unofficial Test against South Africa A here on.
Opener Shubman Gill however, missed out by eight runs a century for the taking. This is the second time he has missed out on the three-figure mark, having scored 90 in the first match at Thiruvananthapuram.
The out-of-favour Karun Nair was batting on 78 (167b, 10×4) and giving him company was skipper Wriddhiman Shah (36 batting, 86b, 5×4). Stumps were called after 74 overs due to bad light.
Sent in to bat by the visiting captain Aiden Markram, India A didn’t enjoy the best of starts with Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran (5) falling leg-before wicket to Lungi Ngidi in the sixth over.
Gujarat batsman Priyank Panchal, a prolific scorer in the domestic circuit like Easwaran, batted for 39 balls before getting dismissed to leave India A at 31 for two.
The South African attack, which included Vernon Philander – who got some game time ahead of the first Test against at Visakhapatnam – Ngidi, Luthu Sipamla and Wiaan Mulder, bowled with a lot of discipline and did not offer the rival batsmen any easy scoring opportunities.
Shubman Gill, who was joined by Nair, got a move on as the two played some good shots. They added 35 runs in less than 10 overs before the lunch break.
The Punjab right-hander showed impressive technique in dealing with the pacers and spinner Dane Piedt, who had done well in the first match. Gill played some lovely shots on both sides and in Karun Nair’s company, added 135 runs for the third wicket in 34 overs. However, at 92 he holed out to Senuran Muthusamy off Sipamla.
Vernon Philander bowled steadily but couldn’t pick up a wicket while Lungi Ngidi (1/41), Mulder (1/19) and Sipamla (1/54) got a scalp each.
The India A team made a few changes with Wriddhiman Saha coming in for KS Bharat and Kuldeep Yadav, who is in the squad for the Tests against South Africa replacing K Gowtham. Umesh Yadav, too, was brought into the playing XI in place of Shardul Thakur.
Brief scores: India A 233 for three (Shubman Gill 92, Karun Nair 78 batting, Wriddhiman Saha 36 batting, W Mulder 1/19) versus South Africa A. Match to continue.
PTI