A timely 66 by Wriddhiman Saha was well complimented by Shahbaz Nadeem”s ten-wicket haul as India A scripted a six-wicket win over West Indies A in North Sound. Playing his first first-class game in over a year, Saha showed resilience and read the situation to perfection. He along with Shivam Dube (71) helped the visitors post 312 on the board in reply to hosts” 228.
Spinner”s craft spells trouble for West Indies A
29-year-old slow left-arm spinner Nadeem scalped five wickets in the first innings and returned back to bag yet another five-wicket haul to make it 10 wickets in the match.
West Indies A was bowled out for 180 and therefore Hanuma Vihari”s side had to chase 97 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Saha”s latest heroics with the bat will help keep him in a good state as he competes with Rishabh Pant to earn a place in the national Test XI for the upcoming series against West Indies.
Saha”s timely 66 will help his case
Pant has performed fairly well in Test cricket. The left-hand batsman has hit two tons and the equal number of the fifties in mere nine Test matches. He enjoys an average of 49.71 in the longest format and the ability to hit big has worked well in his favour.
Saha is clearly ahead of Pant when it comes to the skill-set behind the stumps. But India”s need for a solid batter in the lower-middle order will make the duo sweat hard for a look-in.
Talking about Nadeem, the seasoned campaigner has been plying his trade in the domestic circuit for quite some time now. He has bagged a total of 411 first-class wickets from 107 matches at an average of 28.85. His guile and control was on display against the hosts.
Brief Scores:
India A: 312 and 97 for 4 in 30 overs (Srikar Bharat 28, Abhimanyu Easwaran 27; Rahkeem Cornwall 2/18)
West Indies A: 228 and 180 (Brooks 53; Nadeem 5/47)