It was a perfect tourney for Manish Pandey. The right-hander scored runs with the bat, made the right calls and ended up lifting the silverware in the quadrangular series.
A tournament that saw four sides fight it out in Bengaluru ended up in a one-sided affair. India B convincingly sealed a nine-wicket win over Australia A on Wednesday.
Australia A set a target of 226, courtesy a fine hand from Darcy Short. The opener made 72 runs off 77 balls, but it all went in vain, as Mayank Agarwal’s onslaught, followed by the top-order paved the way for the hosts.
Agarwal made 69 off 67 balls while Shubman Gill remained unbeaten on 66. But the icing on the cake came in the form of Pandey, who scored an unbeaten 73 to steer his side home. It was Pandey’s sixth successive unbeaten knock and fourth of the series. He earlier made – 117*,21* and 95* to lead his side emphatically.
Mentally fresh Manish Pandey keeps it simple
The India batsman was adjudged the man of the match and said the time off from the game helped him regain momentum. The right-hand batsman also said the key was to spend time on the wicket and he expected runs to come by.
“This tournament has been really good to me. And the way the boys have played these three-four games has been commendable. Small hiccup in the last game but we learned our lessons well. I had some time off and came back with a settled mindset. I just wanted to stay on the wicket, and the runs will come.” Pandey said.
The skipper’s 306 runs came at a strike rate of 99.15. He forged a 120-run stand for the second wicket with Gill, as the visitors failed to make inroads.
The yellow brigade finished the tournament with two wins from four games. In the other match, India A beat South Africa A to bag the third spot.