India 'A' survived a scare before pulling off a thrilling three-wicket victory over New Zealand 'A' in a four-day match of the Top-End cricket series in Darwin on Friday.
Chasing 206 for victory on the fourth and final day, the Indians were reduced to a precarious 44 for 4 before S Badrinath (76) and Tejinder Pal Singh (46) put on a 94-run partnership for the fifth wicket to stem the rot.
However, both lost their wickets in quick succession, leaving India needing 31 more runs with just three tail-enders to bat.
Rohit Sharma (22) and Piyush Chawla (26) then stood to the task at hand, steering the team to victory in 68.4 overs.
New Zealand's Jeetan Patel accounted for three wickets, including that of prolific opener Shikhar Dhawan (15), while C S Martin, H K Bennett and M G Orchard picked one apiece.
India 'A', who had conceded a 52-run first innings lead to New Zealand after making 280 in their first essay, were off to a disastrous start, losing both the openers with just 20 runs on the board.
Cheteshwar Pujara was run-out for 2 while Dhawan was trapped leg before by Patel. More shocks were in store for the Indians, as Robin Uthappa (9) and skipper Parthiv Patel (8) were dismissed cheaply in the face of some spirited bowling.
In another outing between Australia 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Shane Watson scored an unbeaten 63, following his first innings of 161 not out, as the four-day match ended in a draw.
Australia 'A' declared their second innings at 165 for six, setting Pakistan 'A' a winning target of 245.
Pakistan reached 145 for 4 from 30 overs before stumps were drawn half an hour early.
