Australia A defeated India A by 25 runs to book a berth in the final of the tri-series final played in South Africa.

Parvez Rasool's cameo (27 off 23 balls, 3x4) took the Indians close but couldn’t help them overtake the 310 runs scored by their opponents.

Openers, Rohit Sharama and Murali Vijay gave India A a solid start with an opening stand of 79 runs before Rohit was run-out by Nathan Coulter-Nile. Vijay batted on to add another 78 with captain Cheteshwar Pujara and the duo put India A into the driver’s seat.

However, after Vijay was dismissed by Mitchell Marsh for 60 runs, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik went out cheaply scoring six runs each. Losing three quick wickets set India A back in their chase.

Ambati Rayudu (32 off 28 balls) and Rasool showed some resistance in the end but the task had gotten too steep. Mohammad Shami and Siddharth Kaul scored 14 and 11 runs respectively before falling to Moises Henriques.

Earlier, it was Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell who scored quick nineties to take Australia A to a massive total of 310 for 7 in 50 overs.

While Marsh scored 96 runs off 107 balls with nine boundaries and three big sixes, Maxwell continued his fine form with a 93 from just 56 balls, which included twelve fours and three sixes.

After the top-order batsmen had played their part in vindicating captain Aaron Finch’s decision to bat first, Nathan Coulter-Nile scored 37 runs at the end to take Australia A past 300. He was well supported by Mitchell Marsh, who scored 34 runs before falling to Mohammed Shami.

Stuart Binny was the pick of the bowlers for India A as he took four wickets in his 10 overs. While Rasool, Shahbaz Nadeem and Mohammed Shami picked up one wicket each.

With Australia A already making the final, the contest between India A and South Africa A will decide the second finalist of the series.

Brief Scores: Australia A 310/7 in 50 overs (Shaun Marsh 93, Glenn Maxwell 96, Stuart Binny 4/55) beat India A 285 in 48.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 61, Murali Vijay 60, Cheteshwar Pujara 51, Moises Henriques 3/22, Josh Hazlewood 3/59).