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Mumbai: A fit-again Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey slammed strokeful centuries as India A feasted on Sri Lanka's mediocre attack to register a comfortable 88-run win in a warm-up match for the visitors ahead of their ODI series against India on Thursday.
Playing his first match after recovering from a fractured finger and shoulder injury, Sharma cracked a brilliant 111-ball 142 before being run out. Pandey, on the other hand, stroked his way to an unbeaten 135 off 113 balls at the Brabourne Stadium.
Invited to bat, India A scored runs at a brisk pace, with the openers - Rohit and Unmukt Chand - carting the bowlers all over the park and helping the team post 72 runs in the first 10 overs. The home team notched up a mammoth 382 for 6 and in reply, the Sri Lankans were restricted to 294 for 9.
Sharma dominated the proceedings initially before Chand, too, upped the ante. The former Under-19 World Cup-winning captain continued his rich vein of form having previously scored an unbeaten 79 and 101 against the West Indies earlier this month. The Delhi batsman struck eight fours and a six in his 39-ball 52 before being caught behind by Kumara Sangakkara off Lahiru Gamage.
Sharma, who was on 36 when Chand departed, forged a 214-run partnership with Pandey. The duo remained aggressive as they sent the bowlers on a leather hunt.
After putting up a solid display, India A lost three quick wickets in the penultimate over, but it did not cause much worry to them as by then the batsmen had already dented the Lankan bowling attack.
The island nation opted to give a chance to all their 15 members and utilised the services of as many as 10 players in the bowling department. The visitors replaced Sangakkara after 26 overs and Kusal Perera took his place behind the stumps.
Chasing a mammoth total, Sri Lanka suffered a jolt when they lost opener Kusal Perera (4) in the first over. The left-handed batsman was caught behind off Dhawal Kulkarni on the last ball of the over. India A struck again when legspinner Karn Sharma trapped Dilshan leg before off the first ball of his spell. The veteran opener made just 14 off 24 balls, leaving the visitors struggling at 42 for two in 8.1 overs.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Sangakkara and Tharanga tried to rebuild the innings and forged a 69-run stand for the third wicket. Sangakkara, one of the most experienced players in the Sri Lankan side, made almost a run-a-ball 34 before being caught in the first slip off Parvez Rasool. His departure left Sri Lanka struggling at 111 for 3.
Tharanga, who had partners changing at the other end quite frequently, was the only one who took to the Indian attack. He carted the bowlers for 13 fours before perishing at midwicket off Karn Sharma.
The Sri Lankans kept losing wickets at regular intervals and lost more than half their side within 32 overs. Mahela Jayawardene made a 31-ball 33 comprising of three fours before being castled by Karn, which left them at 173 for 6.
Niroshan Dickwella and Ashan Priyanjan added 51 runs for the seventh wicket before Dickwella was bowled by Kulkarni. Seekuge Prasanna and Chatrunga De Silva played a few shots in the end to guide the team to a respectable total.
Karn, the 27-year-old Railways bowler, scalped four wickets for 47 runs, while Jammu and Kashmir spinner Rasool and Dhawal Kulkarni picked up two wickets each.
Brief scores
India A - 382/6 (Rohit 142, Pandey 135*, Chand 54)
Sri Lankans - 294/9 (Tharanga 76, Karn 4-47)
Result - India A won by 88 runs
