Bengaluru, Nov 2 (UNI) On a day that tested nerve, skill, and heart, India A found their heroes in Rishabh Pant, Abhishek Kamboj, and Manav Suthar — three men who turned pressure into poetry and guided their team to a thrilling three-wicket win over South Africa A in the first unofficial Test that ended at the Centre of Excellence here today.
Equation at the start of the final day: India A needed 156 runs, South Africa A needed six wickets. The pendulum was poised, the air thick with tension. One mistake could tilt the contest either way.
And South Africa A did make mistakes — costly ones. Pant was twice reprieved, first on 46 and again on 80, as the visitors let golden chances slip. The second drop, at leg gully off Prenelan Subrayen, proved especially painful — a simple chance straight into Senokwane’s midriff that popped out as he lost balance. Those misses would come back to haunt them.
Pant, with a glint in his eye and audacity in his wrists, batted as only Pant can. His 90 was a cocktail of bravery and brilliance — advancing down the pitch to quicks, scooping, driving, daring. It was vintage Pant, the kind of innings that makes spectators lean forward in awe.
But as so often in sport, the script twisted. Pant, in sight of a century, perished to the short ball. Suddenly, India A were wobbling at 172 for five, and the chase hung by a thread. South Africa A pacers — van Vuuren and Sipamla — smelled blood.
Then came the resistance. Young Abhishek Kamboj walked in and decided the moment was his. With the target narrowing and the tension thick, he unfurled the slog sweep, the pull, and the straight drive — every stroke a statement that India A would not bow.
Alongside him, Manav Suthar, the left-hander with the calmest head in Bengaluru, absorbed the storm, defended stoutly, and then, when the moment arrived, launched Subrayen over mid-on to seal the victory.
The dressing room erupted. Suthar raised his bat, Kamboj punched the air — India A 277 for seven, winners by three wickets.
South Africa A fought valiantly — Tiaan van Vuuren and Lutho Sipamla delivering heart and hostility — but on this day, India A’s courage had the final say.
This wasn’t just a win. It was a reminder of India’s cricketing depth, of young men ready to seize the moment, and of Rishabh Pant’s undimmed spirit.
