Cricket finally made an appearance at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium in Visakhapatnam as the second one-dayer kicked off on Tuesday (October 10), albeit after a delay caused by the wet outfield which eventually curtailed the game into a 42-overs-a-side affair. Opting to bat first at the sun-bathed venue, New Zealand A posted a daunting 269 on the board, riding on a superlative 140 not out from young Glenn Phillips. The tourists seemed en route to their first win on their India visit after reducing the hosts to 84 for 5. However, skipper Shreyas Iyer's belligerence, supported by an under-pressure 83 not out from Ankit Bawne, took the game into the final over. In a fascinating turn of events late, Bawne knocked seven off the eight needed from the last three balls for both the sides to settle for a cruel tie. While Iyer and Bawne set the ground ablaze with breathtaking control, Todd Astle's four-fer kept the tourists in the game on more occasions than one.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand began positively with George Worker and Colin Munro opening the batting. Munro started off in the only manner he knew, attempting a hoick over mid-wicket off the first ball he faced. While he couldn't connect much with that, he ensured he took on Shardul Thakur in the third over to take him for a four and a six. The opening duo didn't last long though as Siddarth Kaul struck in back to back overs to remove both. While Worker (6) was dismissed LBW trying to defend on the front foot, Munro missed his patent hoick to be clean bowled for 22.
Phillips, who was flown in to replace Jeet Raval from the four-day squad, made his presence felt immediately when he took on Karn Sharma, the wrecker-in-chief from the four-day games. He swept the legspinner for a couple of fours in the 11th over and, if that wasn't enough to dent his confidence, he stepped out in the following over to send one screaming into the long on fence for four. The tourists brought up their 100 in less than 17 overs time with Phillips accumulating nine boundaries by the time he reached 45. The 20-year-old brought his fifty up off just 51 balls but the joy didn't last long as his partner Henry Nicholls fell to Nadeem for 24. The third wicket stand, worth 74, had already done ample damage before Tom Bruce joined Phillips for another solid partnership, this time worth 96 runs.
Karn finally redeemed himself with the wicket of Bruce but there was no stopping the youngster as he raised his 100 with a cut off Karn in the 37th over. Phillips caused himself a little discomfort when he tripped over while trying to complete a quick single but after the physio attended to him, Phillips, although visibly sapped out, used all the remaining steam to give his side the final push.
With a six landing right in front of the New Zealand dressing room, Phillips seemed to send a loud signal for an ODI inclusion, which is to be named in a couple of days' time. Phillips, though, had saved the best for the last as he took on Kaul in the final over of the innings by hitting him for 27 runs, that included two boundaries and three sixes, to finish on an unbeaten 140 as New Zealand set a daunting 270-run target.
New Zealand began the proceedings with Ish Sodhi but the legspinner was rendered impotent by Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw with three boundaries off him in the first two overs. Both the openers failed to build on the momentum though, falling prey to Scott Kuggeleijn who sent them back with only a delivery separating their exits. Wicketkeeper-batsman Shreevats Goswami got an early reprieve on seven when Munro dropped a catch in the eighth over, but Goswami made the mistake of attempting a pull off Lockie Ferguson to top edge it into the bowler's hands.
While Sodhi got the first crack in what could be a possible shoot-out between him and Todd Astle for the ODI spot, it was Astle who distanced himself in the race with wickets of Vijay Shankar and Deepak Hooda in the 15th over. India A found themselves sinking at 84 for 5. Things could have been worse for the hosts but Bawne's miscued slog sweep went straight in and out of Worker's hands at short mid-wicket.
Iyer and Bawne then began the rebuilding process with the skipper assuming his usual role of the aggressor. Iyer kept finding the boundaries at will before bringing his fifty up with a six straight over Sodhi's head. That was not the end of it as Iyer went after Worker to hit him for two sixes in an over. From the other end, Bawne kept ticking the strike over without letting the bad balls go. Just when India A seemed to canter home with the 126-run stand, Iyer got a leading edge off Astle to be caught at long off, with his side still 60 shy.
Astle's field day at the office continued as he then bagged his fourth wicket to send Karn Sharma back. Bawne continued to wage a lone battle as he picked up 13 runs off the 39th over from Sodhi to keep the match alive. Just as the game kept drawing closer, minds went back to Kaul's final over that cost India 27 runs.
Nobody complained at the action-starved Vizag as the thriller wore late into the night. With 33 needed off the last three overs, Kuggeleijn conceded 11 for the hosts to stay in the hunt. More drama was yet to unfold as Matt Henry, bowling the penultimate over, flicked the bail off on his delivery stride for it to be called a no-ball. To make things worse, Bawne edged a boundary off that no-ball. With 11 needed off the final over, Kuggeleijn and Bawne went into a tug of war. After playing out two dot balls in the middle of the deciding over, courtesy fine yorkers under pressure, Bawne premeditated to swivel-pull a six off the penultimate ball to bring the equation down to two required off the final delivery. However, with Bawne failing to find the gap on the shortened on-side fence, both sides had to make peace with a tie in what was a riveting battle.
Brief Scores: New Zealand A 269/6 in 42 overs (Glenn Phillips 140*, Tom Bruce 46; Siddarth Kaul 3-65, Karn Sharma 2-50) tied with India A 269/9 in 42 overs (Shreyas Iyer 90, Ankit Bawne 83*; Todd Astle 4-22, Scott Kuggeleijn 3-56).
