India A clinch series win with Pandey, Pandya special
India A cruised to a massive 148-run victory over West Indies A at Antigua to seal the five-match One Day series 3-0. Indian captain Manish Pandey struck form with a scintillating century while the left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya finished with a five-wicket haul to skittle the hosts. Pandey was named the player of the match for his splendid performance.
Gill and Iyer continue to dominate
Choosing to bat first, the Indian team lost opener Anmolpreet Singh early to a steep bouncer from Romario Shepherd. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, in-form batsmen, stabilised the innings and stitched a 109-run partnership for the second wicket. Gill crafted a brilliant 77 from 81 balls while Iyer played the second fiddle with his knock of 47 from 69 balls. Both fell to Rakheem Cornwall in a space of four overs.
Pandey takes the lead
Manish Pandey had only 31 runs to show from his previous two knocks. The captain made up for it by scoring a ton. Taking the lower middle-order together, Pandey raced to his hundred in just 86 balls. He fell immediately after his century but the team had posted more than enough at that stage. Cornwall was the pick of the bowlers with 2/37 from his 10 overs while Shepherd was impressive in his burst.
West Indies replies with a steady stand
After two disappointing outings with the bat, the West Indian batting finally gave some hopes to their fans with a solid opening partnership. John Campbell and Sunil Ambris added 51 runs for the first wicket in the chase of 296 runs. However, Navdeep Saini and Avesh Khan sent them back to gain the upper hand once again.
Krunal Pandya grabs the opportunity
Employing a rotation policy, India A brought in the elder Pandya in the side for this game. His first wicket was West Indies A captain Roston Chase. The Indian side used all available spin options which also included Hanuma Vihari. Pandya eventually ended with 5/25 from his seven overs. West Indies A were all out for 147 runs thus succumbing to their third straight loss in the series. These two teams will square off once again at the same venue on Friday, 19th July.
