Badani leads from front

Published December 27, 2003

KOLKATA, Dec 26: Hemang Badani guided India ‘A’ to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka ‘A’ with an unbeaten 85 in the triangular one-day tournament on Friday.

The Indian captain smashed one six and eight fours in his 92-ball knock as the hosts surpassed a modest Sri Lankan total of 200 with more than 10 overs to spare at Eden Gardens.

Medium-pacer Sanjay Bangar (3-43) led a disciplined Indian attack to restrict the Sri Lankans, who had successfully chased more than 300 in their first two matches.

Off-spinner Sarandeep Singh, and pacemen Amit Bhandari and Munaf Patel each grabbed two wickets to make the Sri Lankans struggle for runs.

Opener Saman Jayantha (65) and middle-order batsman Naveed Nawaz (57) were the only batsmen to defy the Indian attack, but their efforts were not good enough for their team to set a stiff target.

Left-handed Badani ensured an easy win for the hosts with an 85-run stand for the third wicket with opener Gautam Gambhir (51).

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA ‘A’:

S. Kalavitigoda c Bangar b Bhandari 0

S. Jayantha c Monga b Bahutule 65

J. Mubarak lbw b Patel 0

R.P. Arnold c Gambhir b Bangar 9

M.N. Nawaz lbw b Sarandeep 57

L.P.C. Silva b Patel 17

P. Jayawardena c Bahutule b Sarandeep 1

MF. Maharoof c Kaif b Bhandari 6

D.N.T. Zoysa c Gambhir b Bangar 20

H.M.R.K.B. Herath not out 10

K.M.D.N. Kulasekera lbw b Bangar 2

EXTRAS (LB-8, W-3, NB-2) 13

TOTAL (all out, 47 overs) 200

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-3, 3-39, 4-124, 5-153, 6-159, 7-162, 8-176, 9-196.

BOWLING: Bhandari 8-2-33-2; Patel 10-0-33-2 (2nb); Bangar 9-1-43-3 (3w); Bahutule 10-0-52-1; Sarandeep Singh 10-1-31-2.

INDIA ‘A’:

G. Gambhir c Arnold b Zoysa 51

S.B. Bangar c Nawaz b Kulasekera 15

Mohammad Kaif lbw b Maharoof 0

H.K. Badani not out 85

Yuvraj Singh not out 33

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-7, NB-5) 17

TOTAL (for three wkts, 39.2 overs) 201

FALL OF WKTS: 1-43, 2-45, 3-130.

DID NOT BAT: D. Mongia, A. Ratra, S.V. Bahutule, M.M. Patel, Sarandeep Singh, A. Bhandari.

BOWLING: Zoysa 10-1-40-1 (1nb, 1w); Maharoof 6-0-23-1 (2nb, 2w); Kulasekera 8-0-48-1 (1nb, 1w); Jayantha 3-0-13-0 (1nb); Arnold 6.2-039-0 (2w); Herath 6-0-33-0.—AFP

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