India ‘A’ wrapped up the 50-over series 2-1 with a facile 75-run victory over Bangladesh ‘A’ at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. Suresh Raina (104) and Sanju Samson (90) starred with the bat, before the visitor’s stuttering chase was called off at the end of the 32nd over due to persistent rain.
After India ‘A’ had piled up 297 for six, the fast bowling combination of S Arvind and Dhawal Kulkarni struck early to leave Bangladesh ‘A’ reeling at 24 for three. Kulkarni castled opener Soumya Sarkar in the second over of the innings, while the impressive Arvind removed Rony Talukdar and Anamul Haque in quick succession. Mominul Haque (37) Liton Das (21) and Nasir Hossain (22) sought to undo the damage, but lost the plot without adding enough substance to the total. Sabbir Rahman (41 n.o.) held firm, but when play was called off after a third rain interruption, his team was found to be well short.
Earlier, the Bangladesh ‘A’ new ball pair of Shafiul Islam and Al Amin Hossain extracted appreciable swing from the wicket. Islam accounted for Mayank Agarwal in the third over, which brought Samson to the crease with captain Unmukt Chand. The duo kept the big shots at bay, and patiently saw out a dangerous phase.
Unmukt (41) scored a bulk of his runs off the square, while the elegant Samson provided safe company. It was left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny who accounted for Unmukt, playing one cut too many.
In walked Raina, to loud cheers from the large crowd. The southpaw progressed in typically busy fashion, moving around in the crease and nudging the ball around. Raina, ever alert to the possibility of stealing a quick single or two, harried the Bangladesh fielders. This was best illustrated in the way he reached his fifty.
The 28-year-old pushed the ball to cover and took off, prompting Mominul to fire at the stumps. Raina, on 46, was never threatened, and watched as the wayward attempt resulted in four overthrows.
Samson, meanwhile, was in his element. The feet moved into position in a jiffy, to pacers and spinners alike. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman seemed set to register a century, before he played the wrong line to an Al Amin Hossain ball. He fell for 90, after a 116-run stand for the third wicket with Raina.
Raina upped the ante after reaching his half-century. He raced along, and moved to 99 with a six to cow-corner off pacer Rubel Hossain. A single off the next ball took him to 100 - a timely knock after scores of 16 and 17 in the first two matches. India ‘A’ won by 75 runs, by Duckworth-Lewis method.
