India A 269 (Bharat 117, Anmolpreet 65, Lahiru Kumara 4-53, Sandakan 4-64) and 372 (Chahar 84, Bharat 60, Anmolpreet 60, Fernando 3-68, Sandakan 3-87) beat Sri Lanka A 212 (Kamindu 68, Jayant 3-24) and 277 (Rajapaksa 110, Chahar 5-112) by 152 runs
India A completed a resounding 2-0 series rout of Sri Lanka A with a 152-run triumph in Hubli, thanks to legspinner Rahul Chahar‘s six-wicket match haul and a maiden fifty with the bat. Chahar’s efforts were complemented ably by KS Bharat and Anmolpreet Singh, who contributed significantly with the bat in both innings.
Sri Lanka A lost the toss for the second time in the series, but resisted India’s onslaught for longer than they had done in the first match that had lasted three days. In Hubli, the hosts were bowled out for 269 – of which wicketkeeper-batsman KS Bharat made 117 – thanks to Lahiru Kumara and Lakshan Sandakan, who picked 4 for 53 and 4 for 64 respectively. Tottering at 64 for 3, India A’s innings found resuscitation through Bharat and Anmolpreet’s 91-run stand. Anmolpreet chipped in with a knock of 65, studded with six fours and two sixes.
In reply, the visitors conceded a 57-run deficit as no other batsman, apart from No. 7 Kamindu Mendis, made a half-century. Mendis’ 68 helped his side scrape to 212 as all six India A bowlers took at least a wicket each. Offspinner Jayant Yadav was the pick of them with 3 for 24 from his 12 overs while Sandeep Warrier and Shivam Dube took two apiece.
India A put on a more convincing show with the bat in their second dig, with the middle-order trio of Anmolpreet (60), Siddhesh Lad (53) and Bharat (60) leading the way. The 123-run eighth-wicket stand between Rahul Chahar and Jayant then built on this platform, taking India A past 350. Chahar hit a 109-ball 84 for his maiden first-class fifty, while Jayant made 53, having been dismissed for single-digit scores in the preceding three innings. The pair fell in a span of nine balls, but their partnership ensured India A amassed 372 to set Sri Lanka A a target of 430.
A score of 277 in 66.4 overs was all the tourists could get, despite Bhanuka Rajapaksa‘s rapid 110 at No 3 – his seventh first-class ton – and an enterprising 46 from Kamindu. Chahar played a big role in their undoing, snaffling 5 for 112, his sixth five-wicket haul at this level.