India ‘A’ cruised to an eight-wicket win with a bonus point over South Africa ‘A’ at the MA Chidambaram Stadium to open their account in the ongoing Triangular series in Chennai. Chasing 245, Mayank Agarwal (130) and Unmukt Chand (90) held their nerve as Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Hardus Viljoen hit the deck hard early on. They then capitalised on the early lives and built a 219-run opening stand to help overhaul the target. Their effort with the bat, over-shadowed Quinton de Kock’s watchfully compiled 108 off 124 even as wickets fell at the other end. Barring Dane Vilas’ (50) the opener found little support from the other end as the hosts’ bowlers maintained an upper-hand for the better part of the game and bowled the opposition out for 244. While Rishi Dhawan claimed four for 49, he was complemented by Sandeep Sharma and the economical Dhawal Kulkarni and Karn Sharma. After the visitors opted to bat, Kulkarni and Sandeep bowled a disciplined line to restrict the flow of runs upfront and build up pressure. A direct hit by Karn from mid-off saw Reeza Hendricks walk back with five runs on the board. 16 runs later, Dhawan took the edge off Theunis de Bruyn’s willow through to the wicketkeeper; while Karn followed-up by knocking back Dean Elgar’s stumps for five. With SA ‘A’ wobbling on 44 for three, Omphile Ramela joined de Kock in steadying the innings. However, as the stand began to take shape Axar Patel ended it for 48 by forcing an edge from the No.4 bat through to Sanju Samson. However, the opener who had held the innings together then found an able ally in Dane Vilas and built a partnership to post a modest target for India ‘A’. Scoring at a quick pace the middle-order batsman took the pressure off de Kock and the pair soon began to milk the hosts for runs. After reaching his half-century, de Kock too took on the bowlers as they added 100 for the fifth wicket until Dhawan was re-introduced into the attack. The pacer dealt a timely double blow to tip the balance back in India’s favour. Vilas flicked the delivery to short fine-leg while the new man Khaya Zondo was trapped lbw with an incoming delivery. Next, he sent de Kock to the pavilion three overs later to finish with a four-wicket haul. Having scored a vital century the opener departed holing out to long-on. The lower-order then crumbled. Sandeep got the better of Mathokozisi Shezi while Viljoen was removed by Kulkarni. Eddie Leie then added 12 runs off seven balls with Lonwabo Tsotsobe until Sandeep toppled the bail off the latter’s stumps to wrap up the opposition on the last delivery of the innings. Chasing the modest target, the first runs off the bat came after 15 deliveries. Agarwal, who was the first to open his account, was granted a life on one, as the fielder in the slips wasn’t able to take a clear catch. In the fifth over, Chand received a couple of lives on zero as the wicketkeeper failed to collect a tough chance while de Kock in the point region didn’t hold on to the catch off Tsotsobe. However, after the shaky start the openers consolidated their stand and laid the foundation for the chase. The duo whipped a boundary each off Viljoen in the next to set the ball rolling. Boundaries came in more often as the openers settled in and there was no looking back for the openers. Agarwal slammed Leie for three boundaries in an over to make up for the slow start to take India to 47 without loss at the end of ten overs. He was the first to reach the fifty-run mark as India took charge of the game. A while later Chand, swept the bowler to the fence to take the team past the three-figure mark in an unbroken stand. Having found his timing, Agarwal played the aggressor while the captain played the perfect foil at the other end to keep India ‘A’ on course for victory. Chand reached his second successive fifty of the series with a single towards mid-on. An over later, he dispatched Leie over the long-on ropes and smashed two fours to collect 16 off the over. The openers looked unstoppable as they whipped the ball all over the ground. Agarwal reached his 100 off as many balls and after the initial hiccups, Chand too looked in good nick as he scored off the opposition’s attack. With SA ‘A’ players not being fit to field, Mandeep Singh fielded for the visiting team in place of de Kock along with the opposition’s video analyst. With victory in sight Chand was out lbw, missing out on a well deserved century by ten runs. With two runs still needed, Agarwal who had slammed Tsotsobe for six off the previous ball edged the bowler to the wicketkeeper. Karun Nair then took the team across the line with a boundary. Man of the Match: Mayank Agarwal for his match-winning century