Bangladesh A beat India A by 66 runs in the second ODI of the three-match series at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. All-rounder Nasir Hossain almost single-handedly led the Bangladesh A contingent for a comeback victory against the in-form hosts.
Bangladesh A came out to bat first and posted a total of 252 runs on the scoreboard, courtesy a brilliant unbeaten century from Nasir Hossain. He carried the baton for the Bangladesh A batting lineup and helped them cross the 250-mark. Litton Das, Anamul Haque and Soumya Sarkar also contributed, but none could cross 50.
Rishi Dhawan yet again starred with ball as he picked up three wickets in his spell of 10 overs. Karn Sharma too bowled well. Sharma gave away only 40 runs in his 10 overs and added a couple of scalps to his name.
India A started off well with captain Unmukt Chand and Mayank Agarwal, but it lasted for a short period. Rubel Hossain sent Agarwal back to the pavilion as he looked dangerous.
Chand and Manish Pandey built a good partnership and added 88 runs. Chand went on to score a gritty half century, but he edged off Nasir Hossain's delivery outside the off stump and Das made no mistake. Pandey was dismissed soon after Chand when he misjudged the length and was cleaned up by Rubel Hossain.
The floodgates opened after Pandey's dismissal. Suresh Raina failed with the bat yet again and that will add extra pressure on him ahead of the big India-South Africa series.
Star of the first ODI, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, put up a lone fight towards the end of the innings but he was in dire need of a partner who could stay put at one end while he could have taken India A over the line.
Surprisingly, five India A batsmen were bowled out, including three being stumped. This made things clearer that the India A batsmen misjudged the wicket and played down the wrong line.
Nasir Hossain was the star of the show as his five-wicket haul squared the three-match ODI series, now making the final game a real final. Rubel Hossain too was right on the money on Friday. At the end, India A were bowled out for 187 runs.
