Mohammed Siraj shines as India A thrash South Africa A by innings and 30 runs
Bengaluru: Pacer Mohammed Siraj bagged his maiden 10-wicket haul as India A beat South Africa A by a comprehensive innings and 30 runs after stiff resistance from the middle order on the final day of the first Test.
After his 5 for 56 in the first innings, Siraj took 5 for 73 in the second innings as South Africa A were all out for 308 in 128.5 overs.
However, it was a toil for the India A bowlers on the final day as it took them 88.5 overs to get the final six wickets.
It was Rajneesh Gurbani (2/45 in 15 overs), who quickly sent back Zubayr Hamza (63) to reduce the Proteas to 121 for 5.
However, Rudi Second (94) and Shaun von Berg (50) added 119 runs for the sixth wicket but more importantly frustrated the home team for more than 50 overs.
Once Von Berg was caught by Ravikumar Samarth off Gurbani's bowling, India A came back into the game.
It took another 12 overs to remove Dane Piedt (8), who edged one off Navdeep Saini to Kona Bharath behind the stumps.
Finally, India got Second trapped leg before by Yuzvendra Chahal (1/85 in 31 overs) but it took another 13 overs to wrap up the match.
Fittingly, it was Siraj who got last man Duanne Oliver to nick one to Bharat as India emerged victors after four days of tough cricket.
One of the statistical highlights apart from the twin hundreds by openers Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw was the performance of the second string pace bowlers.
The trio of Siraj (10/128), Gurbani (4/92) and Navdeep Saini (3/71) took 17 out of the 20 wickets on a flat Chinnaswamy track.
Brief Scores: SA A 246 and 308 in 128.5 overs (Rudi Second 94, Shaun Von Berg 50, Mohammed Siraj 5/73). India A 1st Innings 584/8 decl.