http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 A – 1st unofficial Test - Pujara seals thriller for India A
A captain’s knock from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CA-Pujara-c1209 helped India A to seal a thrilling two-wicket victory over West Indies A in the 1st unofficial Test, played at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, on June 5, 2012.
The match was evenly poised at the end of Day 3 where the tourists were reduced to 22 for 3 in pursuit of 186. However, events in the initial phases of the final day had put the Windies in front after they limited their opponents to 8 for 115, courtesy of a superb five-wicket haul by local boy Jason Holder.
Holder’s efforts went in vain as Pujara put in a sterling effort with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 96, including a decisive 8th wicket stand with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shami-Ahmed-c2496 – helping the tourists to scrape home in the fading light.
The morning began brightly for the home team as Holder cleaned up http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RG-Sharma-c2309 then chipped in with a notable hand of 23, striking a four and six.
Just when it seemed that the tourists would run away with the game, Rohit Sharma fetched at a wide delivery off http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Manoj-Tiwary-c1890 with a superb inswinger to give his side a clear advantage.
The post-lunch interval was delayed by an hour due to rain and when play restarted, the 20-year-old pacer added two more scalps to his name to complete an impressive five-for. He first dismissed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/WP-Saha-c2800 before hitting the timber to send back Bhuvneshwar Kumar – Indians reeling at 115 for 8.
Pujara had already shown signs of aggression by hitting a couple of crisp boundaries and now was content on keeping the strike. He still found a helping hand from Shami Ahmed, who added some lusty blows to end 27 not out.
Nonetheless, the onus remained on the skipper and he swiftly gathered pace in the final stages. With 20 needed, rain again intervened but both players held nerves to guide their team to a thrilling victory.
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