Ashok Menaria, Kedar Jadhav shine in a thriller as India A whitewash NZ A 3-0

FILE PHOTO: Ashok Menaria

Riding on spirited knocks from Ashok Menaria, Kedar Jadhav and Mandeep Singh, India A defeated New Zealand A in the third and final unofficial ODI at Visakhapatnam today with four balls to spare to remain unbeaten in the limited overs leg of the tour.

The result today was the closest of all the three matches, as India A chased down a stiff target of 291, with two wickets remaining.

India had already won the series 2-0, before skipper Unmukt Chand won the toss and decided to field first. Helped by half-centuries by Anton Devcich, Corey Anderson and skipper Tom Latham, and a late surge down the order, the Kiwis posted a formidable target of 290 on board.

Chasing the total, Unmukt Chand failed to continue his good form as he fell to veteran Mark Gillespie while trying to guide the ball over the keeper, but only being able to glove it to the man behind the wicket. Sanju Samson followed soon after when he gave an easy catch on the boundary while trying to open up his arms.

India A found themselves in a spot of bother when the first match centurion Robin Uthappa and Sachin Baby were dismissed with just 79 runs on the board in the 20th over.

The match however turned on its head with the entry of Ashok Menaria, who launched into leg-spinner Todd Astle, carting him for three sixes and a four, collecting 24 runs off the 25th over of the innings. Along with Kedar Jadhav, Menaria went on to add 128 runs at a run-rate of 7.17. Menaria reached his half-century off just 26 deliveries.

Medium pacer Scott Kuggeleijn’s 38th over of the innings soon changed the equation as it accounted for both the half-centurions’ wickets. Devcich hit the bull’s eye with Jadhav just short of his mark, and Menaria sent a top edge into the hands of the third man, after having collected 69 runs off 50 deliveries, with eights hits over the fence.

The Rajasthan all-rounder also picked up two wickets earlier in the match, making it a memorable performance for the 22-year-old.

Things took a sudden turn for the worse for India, who found themselves with two new batsmen on the crease and the required run-rate touching seven runs per over.

But Mandeep Singh, who plays for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, played a breezy knock of 37 off 27 deliveries, and with notable contributions from Jalaj Saxena (19) and Rahul Sharma (20), made sure that India A completed a clean sweep in the three-match series.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand A - Anton Devcich 66, Corey Anderson 59, Tom Latham 53; Ashok Menaria 2/45, Jalaj Saxena 2/60 – 290/9 in 50 overs.

India A - Ashok Menaria 69, Kedar Jadhav 57, Robin Uthappa 46; Mark Gillespie 3/43, Doug Bracewell 1/37 – 291/8 in 49.2 overs.