20 year old Privthi Shaw made a successful return from injury on Sunday, scoring 150 for India A, helping his side to a 12 run win over New Zealand A at the Bert Sutcliffe Arena in Lincoln, located in the Canterbury area on the South Island.
The opener made 150 from 100 balls exactly, and scored 2 sixes and 22 fours, to give the Indian selectors a firm nudge ahead of the arrival of the senior side in the country later this month.
He shared stands with Mayank Agarwal, who scored 32, captain Shubman Gill who made 24, Suryakumar Yadav with 26, and then Ishan Kishan, before finally falling in the 35th over.
After his dismissal, Vijay Shankar and Krunal Pandya took over the responsibility for scoring, with Pandya making 32, and Shankar 58. Together they helped India A make an imposing 372 all out, with their innings coming to an end in the final over of their innings when last man Ishan Porei was run out.
To give credit to the home side, they made an excellent effort to chase down their victory target, with opener Jack Boyle hitting 130 off the same number of balls, striking 17 fours in the process, He was ably supported by Finn Allen who made 87, with captain Daryl Mitchell chipping in with 41, and Dane Cleaver finishing 44 not out. However, they just fell short of what was needed, finishing their 50 overs on 360 – 6.
The most successful of the Indian bowlers was Pandey with 2 for 57, whilst Porei took 2 for 59.
It was the second victory of their tour for India A against their opponents – they won the first match by 92 runs.
However, it will be the return to fitness and form of Shaw that will make the headlines. Having just got back into international contention having served an eight month ban from cricket for taking a banned substance, his comeback was cut short by the shoulder injury he suffered fielding for Mumbai against Karnataka.
Having proved his fitness, he has now put himself in contention for a test recall, after an absence of more than a year.
The first test will be played at the Basin Arena in Hamilton on February 21st.
