Kiwis fall short in effort to defeat India A in series
WELLINGTON: A valiant effort from opener George Worker has failed to keep New Zealand A in contention in their oneday series against India A.
The visiting Kiwis fell short by 64 runs in their fourth match in Visakhapatnam, handing the hosts the fivegame series with one to spare.
The New Zealand side needed a win on Friday to pull back the series following a drubbing in the third, a dramatic tie in the second and a washed out opener.
Winning the toss, India A elected to bat and went on to post 2896, with opener Abhimanyu Easwaran the top scorer with 83 runs off 104 balls.
Seamer Scott Kuggeleijn’s 237 was the standout among the New Zealand bowlers as India’s fifth batsman, Deepak Hooda, picked up 59 and Vijay Shankar went on to score 61 off 33 deliveries.
The tough target ultimately proved too much for a Kiwi side that finished 225 all out in 45.1 overs, despite a century from opener Worker.
As the lefthander settled in — eventually scoring 108 off 113 balls — wickets fell around him, New Zealand losing the first three for 50 runs.
Leftarm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem tore through the Kiwi lineup, taking 433 in 9.1 overs while Siddarth Kaul collected three wickets for 25 runs in seven overs.
Twentyeightyearold Worker eventually went in the 41st over as the sixth man out, but his effort proved futile with only three of his team mates — Colin de Grandhomme (18), Henry Nicholls (37) and Tom Blundell (31) — making it past six runs.
The loss means India A takes a 20 lead with only one match, on Sunday, remaining. — NZN