An unbeaten century from Mayank Agarwal and a brilliant innings of 90 runs helped India A to thrash South Africa A by eight wickets in the third ODI of the triangular series at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
Earlier, South Africa A had decided to bat first on a flat wicket in Chennai. A century from Quinton de Kock and a half-century from Dane Vilas helped the Proteas A side to reach a score of 244 runs in their alotted 50 overs.
Rishi Dhawan was the pick of the bowlers for India A side as he picked up a four-for by giving away 49 runs in his 10 overs. Sandeep Sharma also bowled well for two wickets in his 10 overs after costing 46 runs. Dhawal Kulkarni, Axar Patel and Karn Sharma got a wicket each as well.
Later, when India A came out to bat, they began shakily as three catches were dropped by South Africa A in the fifth over during their run chase. Unmukt Chand and Mayank Agarwal broke the shackles after that and there was no stopping them. In a bizarre turn of events, many of the South African players left the field after falling ill due to the heat. They ran out of reserve players as well. Their video analyst fielded for them and later India A's Mandeep Singh donned the South Africa A jersey to replace De Kock who pulled off because of an injury.
Agarwal went on to score his 4th List A century and Chand was unlucky to get out on a score of 90 runs. India A registered their first win after coming to Chennai and they achieved it quite comprehensively. They chased down the total of 245 runs in just 38 overs, thereby registering a victory over the Proteas A side by a healthy margin of eight wickets. By doing this, India A also gained a bonus point.
