India A win third game to clinch series

Bengaluru, Sep 20 : Suresh Rai led the way with a century as India A defeated Bangladesh A by 75 runs in the third unofficial one-dayer at the M Chinswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

The Indians thus claimed the three-match series 2-1. They had defeated the visitors by 94 runs in the first match earlier in the week.

Rai scored 104 runs off 94 deliveries, hitting nine boundaries and a six along the way.

Batting first after winning the toss, India A suffered an early jolt when Mayank Agarwal (4) was sent back by pacer Shafiul Islam in the third over.

But skipper Unmukt Chand (41) played a patient knock to bring the innings back on track before Rai and Sanju Samson (90) put together a 116-run partnership to help the hosts post a competitive total of 297/6.

Rishi Dhawan also came up with a useful unbeaten cameo of 26 runs off 15 balls lower down the order to help the hosts finish their innings on a high note. The Bangladeshis did not help their cause by conceeding as many as 23 extras.

Bangladesh A's chase began on a shaky note as pacers Sreeth Aravind and Dhawal Kulkarni struck early blows.

The match then saw a 21-minute rain interruption, after which the target was revised to 290 in 46 overs. But there was no change in the visitors' fortune when play resumed as spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Karn Sharma kept on the pressure. Liton Das (21) and Mominul Haque (37) attempted to stage a fightback with a 44-run stand for the fourth wicket, but Kuldeep dismissed both of them in quick succession. Sabbir Rahman (41 not out) came up with some late fireworks for the visitors, but by the time rain interrupted again, Bangladesh A were at 141/6, a considerable way behind their Duckworth-Lewis par score of 216. IANS