The top order wobbled again but skipper S Badrinath led with example and hit a sedate unbeaten 69 to fashion India A's comprehensive five-wicket win against their New Zealand counterparts in the Tri-Series cricket tournament in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
After Badrinath inserted the visitors, Piyush Chawla (3-43) and Praveen Kumar (2-17) shared five wickets between them to shoot out the visitors for 167 in 44.5 overs with Neil Broom (52), Peter Fulton (40) and Grant Eilliot (35) making useful contribution with the bat.
Chasing a meagre target, the Indians could not settle into any rhythm as the top order continued its slipshod show before Badrinath and in-form Yusuf Pathan (34 not out) put their foot down and stitched together an unbeaten 43-run stand to see the hosts through with 15.2 overs to spare.
Badrinath's 88-ball unbeaten knock included seven hits to the fence apart from two sixes.
Yusuf played a violent 20-ball knock of unbeaten 34 with two boundaries and three sixes in it.
The Kiwis ran into trouble early in their innings, losing three wickets for eight runs inside seven overs.
Fulton and Broom then arrested the slide with defiant knocks to avert any immediate setback. Though they managed to stave off the Indian attack for a while, putting together 89 runs in the process, the run rate remained modest and from 97 for three, they suddenly slumped to 110 for six.
Elliot and Nathan McCullum (29) tried their best but Chawla and Praveen mopped the tail to skittle them out inside 45 overs.
India A didn't have a flying start either and the hosts were 60 for four inside 13 overs with Swapnil Asnodkar (0), Suresh Raina (4), Robin Uthappa (24) and Rohit Sharma (11) back in the hutch.
Dinesh Karthik (22) was content rotating the strike but like Uthappa, he too could not convert the start and perished in the 30th over.
Badrinath too looked little shaky in the start -- especially after Mark Gillespie once hit him in the helmet -- before he shrugged off the cageyness and played out some scintillating shots.
Yusuf Pathan on the other hand was his explosive self and his characteristic big hits helped the hosts wrap up the match with more than 15 overs to spare.
