Cape Town - It was another difficult outing for the bowlers on day two of the three-day warm-up encounter between the Indian Board President’s XI and South Africa ‘A’ in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
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With only four wickets falling in unfavourable bowling conditions, the batsmen from the respective teams scored at a healthy rate as the hosts ended on 201/2 after 45 overs in their first innings.
With overnight batsman Zubayr Hamza (104) retiring not-out, the visitors resumed the day’s action on 389/2 as Senuran Muthusamy joined Rassie van der Dussen at the crease. The duo could only add a further seven runs before van der Dussen was dismissed for 39 (68 balls, 6 fours).
That dismissal brought wicket-keeper/batsman Rudi Second out to the middle. The right-hander combined with Muthusamy to record a 77-run partnership for the sixth wicket, before the latter became the fourth wicket to fall, trapped LBW on 31 (69 balls, 4 fours) as the tourists declared on a daunting 473/4 after 115.1 overs. Second returned unbeaten on 44 (off 73 balls, 7 fours).
Jalaj Saxena (2/54), Dharmendrasinh Jajeda (1/65) and Atit Sheth (1/69) were the pick of the bowlers for the home side.
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It was more hard work for the bowlers in the hosts’ innings as openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sanjay Ramaswamy put on a 59-run partnership before it was broken by Malusi Siboto (1/13) who removed Easwaran for 33 (48 balls, 6 fours).
Ramaswamy forged ahead and went on to reach his eighth First-Class fifty. Partnered up with Dhruv Shorey, the duo absorbed the pressure, bringing up a 100-run partnership for the second wicket. Shorey also recorded his eighth half-century in the process. Ramaswamy looked to be heading towards a deserved century before the experienced Shaun von Berg (1/37) finally broke the deadlock, dismissing him 13 runs short of his ton (87 off 113 deliveries, 17 fours, 1 six).
Shorey (67*) and Ricky Bhui (3*) managed to guide their side to stumps without a further loss of wickets, as they look to continue to eat away at the 272-run lead.