India A showcased a dominant performance as they handed a 3-0 whitewash to the Kiwis in the ODIs following the stalemate in the Test series. The Indian side had the likes of youngsters like Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan.
The final ODI saw Anmolpreet Singh top scoring for the Indian side with 71 off 80 balls guiding India to a total of 275 at the end of 50 overs. The total of 275 was enough as the disciplined Indian bowling attack led by Siddarth Kaul bundled the Kiwis out at 200 runs, giving India a win by 75 runs. Some of the star performers of the series for India were as follows:
#1 Manish Pandey
Earlier in the year during the Quadrangular Series which featured India A, India B, Australia A, and South Africa A, Manish Pandey had proved why he is one of the best middle order batting options for the Indian side.
He top scored in the tournament scoring over 300 runs in 4 games where he ended not out in all. He scored two 50s and a century at a strike rate of over a run a ball to guide India B to victory in the Quadrangular Series.
Pandey has been guilty of being inconsistent in his short international career. Recently, he was dropped from the side for the ODI series against the Windies. With that at the back of his mind, Pandey once again showed why he is still in the reckoning for a spot in the team for the upcoming World Cup as he ended as the second highest run scorer in the bilateral series against the Kiwis.
He played a captain's knock of an unbeaten 111 in the second ODI which sealed the series for India A. He missed out in the last ODI against the Kiwis as he just managed to score 5 runs.
#2 Vijay Shankar
The all-rounder from Tamil Nadu once again stamped his authority for a spot in the Indian side as he ended as the highest run scorer in the bilateral series. He played a crucial role in India A’s triumph over the Kiwis with vital contributions in all 3 games. He started the ODI series on a high scoring an unbeaten 87 off 80 balls to guide India to a 4 wicket victory.
He continued with his good form as he scored yet another half-century in the 2nd ODI to support Manish Pandey to get India through to a 5 wicket win. In the final ODI, the men in blue opted to bat first and put up a total of 275 where Vijay Shankar once again contributed with a 42 off 43 balls. He scored 188 runs in the 3 games at an average of 94 with a strike rate of over 100.
#3 Siddarth Kaul
Siddarth Kaul, the under 19 World Cup winner recently made his debut for the Indian side in both the T20s and ODIs. He started off the bilateral series with a below-par show in the first ODI where we went for over 70 runs in his 10 over spell. Kaul picked it up in the second and third ODI to seal the series for India A.
In the second ODI, where most of the Indian bowlers went for over 6 an over Kaul stuck to his line and length to pick up one wicket in his 8 over spell going for just 36 runs. In the final ODI, he picked up figures of 4 for 37 in his 7 over spell to bundle out the Kiwis for 200 runs as India won the final match by 75 runs. Kaul ended the bilateral series as the highest wicket-taker picking up 7 wickets in 3 games at an average of 21.
#4 Krishnappa Gowtham
Krishnappa Gowtham the bowling allrounder became a sensation after he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for a massive sum of INR 6.2 Crores in the auction for the 2018 edition of the IPL. In IPL 2018, he picked up 11 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 28.36 with an economy rate of 7.8 runs an over.
He played a major role in India A’s triumph as he ended as the most economical bowler for the Men in Blue. Though he didn’t pick up too many wickets, he kept his end tight as he didn’t allow the Kiwi batsmen to score easy runs. He picked up 4 wickets in the 3 games at an economy rate of 4.44. He was not only the most economical bowler for India A but also the most economical bowler in the entire bilateral series.
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